Deadpool
by moonandstars1989
Summary: Alexia Marshall is a 19-year-old with a dark past. She has spent the last 4 years running from her demons, moving from town to town. Now, she finds herself in the small Californian town of Beacon Hills, a place she felt forced to go when she came across a list of names, but not just any old list. A Deadpool. And her name was at the very top.
1. Prologue - Insomnia

**Hey :) So this is the intro to** ** _Deadpool_** **which is based on season 4 of Teen Wolf. The OC is based on a character from the TV show Heroes, but you don't need to have seen it to understand as this is NOT a crossover story (but it is a good show so you can watch it anyway :).**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the plot lines or characters in this story.**

 **Enjoy :)**

 _A chill colder than death itself rattled through my bones. Tiny painful needles of fear pricked into my icy skin. My eyes were open, but all I saw was black. I felt that I was lying down, flat on my back, my arms pinned to my sides. I wriggled them free and brought them to my chest, pushing them up in front of me to get a better concept of where I was. My fingers were met with something damp and granular. I clawed at it, the strange black substance clinging under my nails and between my fingers. The darkness before me crumbled and crumbled until my body was caked in it. I cried out in frustration. The sound of my hoarse voice startled me and I became aware for the first time how quiet it had been before._ _  
_ _  
_ _I wiped my hand on the side of my face, accidentally smearing the dark substance across my mouth. It felt gritty between my teeth and I spat once it had filled my mouth with a repulsive muddy taste. It was then that I realised where I was; I was underground._ _  
_ _  
_ _Then the panic set in. I frantically clawed again and again trying to fight my way out, to get to the surface. But as I did, the small space I was in began to fill up, burying me deeper and deeper under the mud and dirt. I inhaled deeply, the small particles clinging to my lungs, making me cough. I couldn't get out._ _  
_ _  
_ _I screamed out again and again, my ears burning at the noise. The mud filled my mouth, pouring down my windpipe into lungs that were slowly emptying of air._ _The fear growled inside of me again as I coughed and choked, before the howling darkness consumed me._

I sat up in bed, beads of sweat rolling off of my forehead and evaporating into thin air. I climbed out of the sheets, mind still swimming with the memories of my nightmare. The bedroom light was still on, not surprising considering I hadn't intended on falling asleep. In fact, I was furious for allowing myself to uncharacteristically slip into unconsciousness. It was the first time in months and I was hoping to beat my personal record. It was stupid really, although my body didn't technically need it, I always felt better after sleeping. However, in the last few years since my 15th birthday, I had taken to sleeping as little as possible. I told myself it was to test my abilities, but in reality I knew it was to stop myself from reliving the same nightmare over and over again every time I closed my eyes.

Standing up I walked out into the hallway of my one bedroomed flat, and made my way over to the kitchen. After making myself a mug of coffee I sat down at the island and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that had come to be so valuable to me. I scanned the list of names, all unfamiliar but one, Alexia Marshall, my own. I say unfamiliar, but really, they had become so ingrained in my mind after studying them so many times that I could probably recite them backwards from memory, including the odd numbers beside each one.

The numbers. Strange but perhaps the most compelling part to this whole document. Some were the same, but all seemed to be randomly allocated to a different person. I had worked out what they meant only a few days after the list had been slipped under the door of my hotel room when I was staying only a few hours from the mysterious town of Beacon Hills that I now resided in. The numbers were prices. Rewards. The list of names wasn't just a list of names, they were instructions.

Instructions to kill.

It was a hit list, and my name was at the very top.


	2. Chapter 1 - New Arrival

A week had passed since I had last slept and my plans had not moved forward particularly from staring at the list. One name stood out to me. Scott McCall. Not only because his name was matched with the highest price but also because my name too was matched with the same price. I didn't know what it meant, but I had a hunch, no a hope, that this meant we could be the same. Ever since I discovered my alarming abilities I had wondered if someone out there shared what I could do. And now I had my answer, well almost.

Later in the evening I sat at my desk, walls around me plastered by maps, photos, phone numbers and of course, the list.

After weeks of going through every car registration document, hospital admission and police report I could get my hands on with a tooth comb, I found his name in a school record. I wasn't sure what I imagined of him. Whether he would be an older man with a balding head, an attractive young doctor or a father with children cursed with the same gifts as himself. But all that didn't matter. So when I pulled his name from a school record I wasn't at all disappointed. Scott McCall, Junior at Beacon Hills High School.

This was great, I now had a lead. I restrained myself from grabbing my keys and bolting down to the school straight away, only to realise that it was late, and walking into a school at night looking for a teenage boy I didn't know would not be the best idea.

Instead, I made plans and thought about how I would approach the situation. Did he know about the list? Hell, did he even know about his abilities? I stopped myself there and thought about my own situation. I had known the majority of my life about my 'talent', there was no way he could have made it to Junior year without finding out.

I decided that I would just be straight with him. I'll show him the list and tell him everything. After that, well we would just have to see.

* * *

The next morning I got up early, eagerly anticipating my trip to the school. I grabbed my keys before opening the top draw of my desk. Pulling out the 9mm hand gun, I put the safety on and shoved it down the back of my jeans as a just in case. I mean, there were people trying to kill me.

It took me longer than usual the get onto the main road and after not long, I realised I was heading in the wrong direction. When I found myself driving past the Beacon Hills preserve sign and getting further into the woods I realised I had to stop and turn around.

I noticed I was approaching a fence line and pulled over, hoping there would be some kind of sign that would tell me where I was. It wasn't until I had hopped out of the car that I saw him. Behind the fence was a man. He was staring at the ruins of what looked like an old house. His back was to me and I couldn't tell if he knew I was there or not, so I decided to make myself known.

'Hey!' I called to him through the fence, as I approached. 'I'm looking for the school? Beacon Hills High. Do you know it?'

He straightened up, now aware of my presence, but still remained facing away, staring at the charred remains of the building. 'I must have come the wrong way,' I tried again, the situation growing more and more awkward for me by the second.

He turned his face towards me and met my gaze for a second before lowering it again. I could see now that he was only a teenager, probably no older than 16. His face was a mixture of fear and confusion and I swore his eyes were rimmed with tears. It was clear I wasn't getting anything out of him and I contemplated getting back I'm my car and driving away, but against my better judgment, I decided to stay.

'Hey, are you okay?' I asked, trying my best to sound concerned. Dealing with a teenager with problems wasn't exactly at the top of my agenda today. Well it was, just not this teenager. 'Do you need me to call someone for you?'

He didn't respond, only becoming more and more agitated and confused. He grabbed his head, fingers gripping at the dark hair as his knees shook. At first I thought he might just collapse to the ground, but he started to breathe heavily, as if trying to calm himself down.

At this I grabbed the metal of the fence and pulled myself up and over it, dropping to the ground. As I did I felt a sharp scratch on the palm of my hand, obviously having scraped it on a sharp piece of wire. I watched as the open wound closed itself up, the skin knitting itself back together at a shocking speed, leaving no trace of damage. I sighed, brushing myself off and turning towards the boy.

As I approached him I reached out a hand to pat his shoulder, trying to be comforting. At my touch he cowered away violently, making my heart thud in my chest. Just then another car pulled up beside mine and I cursed myself for sticking around when I saw it was a cop car.

Two deputies got out of the car and approached us. I tried to avoid eye contact and appear as if I hadn't noticed them, while the boy next to me didn't appear to have noticed them at all.

'Excuse me, Miss? Young man?' one of the cops said.

'You're calling _him_ young man?' The other said, only to be met with a blunt, 'shut up, Haigh' that made me smirk.

'Sorry, but you two can't be here,' the first one said. 'Is that your car?' he asked, the question directed at me.

'Yeah its mine. I was trying to find the high school when I found him in here. Just stopped to ask for directions.' I said matter of factly. I had considered covering for him, only to dismiss the idea quickly. This kid hadn't exactly been the most helpful to me.

'High school? You're way off here in the preserve,' the shorter one, Haigh, said as he scoffed at me. I glared back at him.

'I'm new to town, don't know my way around yet,' I snapped back at him.

'Really? Where you from?'

'None of your business,' I said coldly, feeling a surge of confidence. I could see him seething, and wanting to say more but the other cop sent him a look, telling him to let it go.

Haigh gave a reluctant and angry sigh, turning towards the boy again. 'Hey dumbass. You ever hear of no trespassing?' he said in a condescending tone, putting my teeth on edge.

'This is my house,' the boy retorted back, looking even more fearful and confused now.

'Nobody's been here for years, kid. Now get the hell out of here.'

Now it was my turn to speak up again.

'Hey, stop that. Can't you see he's upset!' I shouted back at him, not liking how he was treating this kid. I cursed myself again for getting involved, this was really not what I needed.

'I don't need you telling me how to do my job, sweetheart,' he yelled back rudely. He'd only been here for 5 minutes and I already hated him. I could see his hand hovering over the hand cuffs clipped to his belt. He was itching to use them, and I concluded he was just a power hungry jackass, looking for an excuse to arrest someone. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He glared at me, waiting for a response, but I just met his eyes with an equally hard stare, standing my ground, but careful not to step over the line.

'Haigh, that's enough,' he warned his partner. Then he turned towards the boy. 'Are you alright?' He asked in a caring voice. 'We can help you if something's wrong.'

The boy looked up at him, a tear finally spilling over his eyelid and rolling down his cheek. 'What happened to my house? Where's my family?' he asked, getting more confused and angry with each unanswered question. 'Where's my mother?'

The deputy looked to him with concern and looked as if he was about to say something, before he was interrupted.

'All right, let's go. Now!' Haigh demanded, starting towards the boy, having already pulled out what looked like a Taser from his belt.

The other deputy, seeing his partner's intentions made to stop him. 'Hold on, just take it easy,' he said feebly, his efforts pathetic. Haigh, ignoring his co-worker, raised the Taser in front of him as he approached the agitated teen and I could see what he was about to do.

'What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy!' I yelled at him, running forward to try to stop him. Seeing my advances, the deputy raised his free hand to my shoulder and pushed me backwards. The force wasn't strong, but was enough to push me off balance and stumble onto the ground. I decided then to not push my luck any further. I might actually have gotten hurt and I didn't feel like explaining a miraculous healing of a wound to these two cops. The next thing I know there was a loud groaning noise and the teen was on the ground, electricity jolting through his body.

The other deputy, after helping me to my feet, gave Haigh a stern look and told him to stand down. He still however let him handcuff the defeated boy and shove him roughly into the back of the cop car. I felt bad for the kid, but I had other matters to attend to.

As I made my way over to my car the taller deputy called out to me. I turned to face him, annoyed at being held up even more. 'I'm sorry Miss, but you are gonna have to come down to the station with us to give a statement.'

'Yeah, whatever,' I said flatly. Right now I didn't care that he was a cop, I've been in the presence of much more intimidating people before and he didn't even come close.

I followed them in my truck back to the station, following them into a waiting room, before being left alone.

Good one Alex, I thought to myself. Barely been in this town 5 minutes and you're already at the police station. My plan of keeping a low profile while trying to figure out this hit list thing was not going well. Whoever was after anyone on that list would have to be an idiot not to be looking through police records like I had done, and having my name stamped across a witness statement would surely brighten the target on my back. Luckily though, I decided to use an alias I had become very accustomed to using in situations like these over the last few years. Sooner or later people would find out the name was fake, but I would much prefer it to be later. At least for now, the name on the police statement wouldn't correspond to the name on _the list_ , and this made me feel safer, even if it was only for a little while.

After a while I was called to make the statement and sign a few forms before they told me I was free to go. As I was exiting the station I noticed the kid from earlier handcuffed to a chair. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, despite our encounter setting me back a good few steps in my plans to figure out the list.

Just as I was about to leave, something the deputies were saying caught my attention.

'Derek Hale?' I heard the taller deputy say.

'Did you say Hale?' Another, older man said. The sound of the all too familiar name made me jump before I was pushed through the doors to the outside.

 _Derek Hale_. He was on the list too.


	3. Chapter 2 - Pleasantries

A few days had passed since my short encounter with Derek Hale and nothing. I had been back to the house a few times, just to see if he might be there, but I had no luck.

In fact, everything had been pretty normal. No police encounters, no supernatural assassins, nothing. Not until one night when I was driving home late.

I had just done a bit of late night grocery shopping and was driving across town. I took a slight detour from my usual route home so I could check out the hospital. I always made it a priority to locate it when I moved to a new town, just in case.

As I passed it I noticed a figure in the road ahead of me. Slightly annoyed, I beeped my horn at them, hoping they would move. As I got closer, the figure became illuminated by my headlights. The boy raised his hands in front of himself, as if he were a traffic warden telling me to stop. It was then that I noticed his hands. They were soaked with crimson blood that dripped down his forearms and onto the road. I slammed on the breaks, shock more than anything running through my veins.

Before I could register what I had seen, the boy took off again, running as fast as he could towards the hospital. I quickly pulled over on the side of the road, jumped out of the car and sprinted after him, curious and worried for this boy who didn't look any older than 15 or 16.

I shouted after him, trying to get his attention but he didn't stop until his bloody hand slapped against the hospital door. I caught up to him and put my hand on his shoulder, turning him around so I could see his face. The sheer terror I saw in his eyes was enough to send icy shivers up my spine. His red hands clung to my shirt, trying to keep himself from collapsing. I pushed the hospital doors open, practically dragging this kid next to me.

Just as we were through the doors, his legs gave way and he fell to the ground with a large thump. 'Can I get some help over here!' I yelled over the busy hospital foyer. Once I had got the attention of a nurse and the police officer she was chatting to I turned my attention back to the boy. He was shaking uncontrollably from fear and it was only then that I realised he was shirtless, his bare skin freezing cold from the night air.

I tried soothing him slightly, telling him he would be okay but I had never really been the comforting type. As the nurse rushed over, I stood up and backed away from the teen, giving her space to help him. After checking him over for fatal injuries that needed immediate attention, she looked up at me. 'What happened to him?' she said quickly, although she didn't sound panicked, just worried for the boy.

I shook my head, unable to speak for a second as I saw the deep slashes across the kid's palms. 'I don't know,' I replied honestly, 'I found him like this in the road, running towards the hospital…' I paused, 'is he going to be okay?'

By now a whole team of nurses and doctors were surrounding us and the boy was being lifted onto a gurney.

'He doesn't seem to have any serious injuries, but I'm more worried about whatever he was running from.' Her last few words were said more to herself than to me. She looked up at me, slightly sheepish, as if she had said something she shouldn't have, before she turned back to the boy and wheeled him away. Her last words echoed in my mind. What was he running from?

* * *

I sat cross legged on the lino flooring of the hospital. It had been roughly two hours since my arrival with the terrified boy and I was starting to get agitated. After the nurses wheeled him away I figured I would stay until I heard news that he would be okay. What was with me and finding anxious and confused teenagers these days? I needed to stop getting myself into these situations.

It was then that I heard the crackle of a radio and I looked up at the officer sat across from me. He was the one that was talking to the nurse before and he had been eyeing me suspiciously for the last forty-five minutes or so. I was slightly offended at first that he assumed since I was the one with the boy when he came into the hospital, I must have been the one to cause him so much distress. Couldn't I simply be a caring young woman just trying to help out? I scoffed at the thought and decided even though I had nothing to do with whatever had got this kid so upset, I couldn't blame the cop for being weary of me. Besides, my attire of a blood stained leather jacket and a top littered with crimson hand prints didn't exactly scream helpful neighbour.

I watched him take the radio from his belt and give the caller the go ahead. I couldn't hear all their conversation, but the words _triple homicide_ did jump out and catch my attention.

Before I had time to think, the officer stood up and started to approach me and I noticed a shiny sheriff badge glinting in the luminescent strip lighting.

'Miss, I need you to answer a few questions about the boy you came in with earlier tonight.' I looked up at the Sheriff before nodding my head.

'Yeah, of course.' I stood up from sitting on the floor and followed the Sheriff's gesture towards a seating area. I sat down and he took the seat opposite me.

'I'd like you to tell me about everything that happened tonight, from the beginning,' he asked, aged eyes fixed on my green orbs.

'You probably know more than I do, Sheriff.' It was just a light comment, but his reaction startled me. If I had blinked I would have missed it, but at my words there was a definite change in his eyes, just for a second, a look that said 'you have no idea'. He composed himself and cleared his throat.

'All I know is that I've got a triple homicide and a teenage boy scared out of his mind,' he said calmly but urgently at the same time. We stared at each other for a long moment. I knew even though I was aching for more information about the situation, I wasn't getting any until I coughed up a few answers myself, so with a sigh, I decided to speak up.

He seemed pretty satisfied with my story, and after eyeing my blood stained attired again he let me go. Just as I was about to take off I realised something, I still didn't know the boy's name. I whipped my head around and caught the Sheriff's eye. He knew what I wanted to know.

'His name's Sean Walcott.' I nodded in thanks to him and headed out the doors of the hospital.

 _Sean Walcott_ , the sound of the Sheriff's voice rang in my eardrums, the same way Derek Hale's had only a week ago. They were both on the list. And as for the triple homicide, I would bet my right arm that the three victims also had the surname Walcott. It had started. The assassins had begun to pick us one by one off that list, and how long would it be before everyone on it was dead?

And the real nightmare that sent shivers down my spine was not even the knowledge that trained killers knew where I was. It was the fact that _he_ might know where I was too. Who knew how many people had that list? Forget about the assassins, the person who hunted me was much worse. _He_ was the worst nightmare of all.

My drive home was short, but even so, when I pulled into the road opposite my apartment building, the sun was already starting to show over the horizon. I hadn't even realised I had been out all night. I sauntered up the stairs of the building, the exhaustion of the day hitting me more mentally than physically. After rummaging around in my bag for the key and making it into my small, one bedroomed apartment I shrugged off my crimson stained leather jacket before collapsing on the couch, instantly losing consciousness.

* * *

I was jolted awake too soon by my familiar nightmare that haunted me every time I closed my eyes. I groggily pulled myself from the couch and stretched out my arms above me, horrified when I noticed I was still in the blood stained attire from last night – my boots too for that matter.

Hopping in the shower, I let the hot water ease my aching muscles and wash away the events of yesterday. The blood took a little longer than I had expected to get off my hands but soon they were wiped clean and I reluctantly turned off the water and pulled a towel around me – I had work to do after all. Someone had murdered almost an entire family last night, and I had to figure out who – they might come knocking on my door soon and I couldn't have that.

Just as I was about to make myself some breakfast I suddenly felt a nagging feeling from inside of me. A little voice inside my head spoke up, telling me that I was maybe being just a little bit selfish. Although I tried to dismiss the thought, I knew that as long as that boy, Sean, was in the hospital and alive, he was living target practice for those assassins. I tried to tell myself it didn't matter; it's not like I could do anything about it if a trained killer decided to show up in his hospital room. It's not like I even cared if they did anyway, he was just a random kid. But the fact that he was listed on a piece of paper that I possessed, a list that I was on too, somehow made me feel responsible for him. If I knew what could happen to him and did nothing, surely that would haunt me too. It wasn't like I had a choice anyway, I already had his blood on my hands.

So before I had really decided to, I was on my way back to the hospital, the Glock from my top draw stuffed in the back of my pants. I took a detour this time though, thinking it would be a good idea to check out the kid's house to see if the killer had left any clues. I pulled a crumpled piece of paper from my purse and stared at the kid's address I had obtained by a gullible nurse the previous day. The thing I like the best (and the worst for that matter) about Beacon Hills is that everyone knows everyone.

I pulled up outside the pretty big house, now littered with police tape keeping the general public from going inside. Luckily, I didn't consider myself to be a member of the general public so I hopped out of my car and strode along the side walk towards the house. However, as I was about to make my way up the porch steps, I heard a car door slam shut and hurried footsteps coming towards me.

 _Busted._

I recognised the deputy from a few weeks before. It was the taller one, with short blonde hair who didn't look much older than me. I wondered how experienced he was to have this kind of job at such a young age. He slowed as he got closer to me, but still kept up a firm pace. I wanted to run away, so that he wouldn't know who I was, but I found my feet glued to the grass. He looked ready to pull out the weapon from his belt, and I unconsciously felt mine stuffed into the back of my jeans.

'Miss?' he said as he approached me. His voice was kind but still assertive. 'This is a crime scene; you can't be here.' I could see his hand hovering over his gun.

I looked up and met his eyes as a wave of recognition washed over him.

'It's you,' he stated, brow furrowing in confusion and a hint of suspicion.

'Yep, it's me,' I said bluntly, rocking back on my heels slightly, feeling a little awkward. He stared at me, baffled for a few more seconds before shaking his head and releasing his grip on the gun in his belt. I relaxed slightly.

'You sure do have a habit of turning up places you shouldn't be,' he said lightly, only a dash of suspicion in his voice.

'I prefer to call it being in the wrong place at the _right_ time,' I said with a smirk, which turned into a glare when he chuckled a little.

'Is that what happened last night?' he asked and I stared blankly back at him, not sure what he was getting at. He seemed to sense my confusion and spoke up again. 'It was you wasn't it? You're the one who brought Sean into the hospital?'

'Yes. And?' I questioned, getting agitated by his prying already. If I couldn't go in the house, I just wanted to leave.

'Well you turned up at the Hale house last week, yesterday you found Sean in the road, and now here you are – at the crime scene of a triple homicide.' He explained. I couldn't tell if he was just making conversation, or even trying to be funny, but I wasn't a bit amused.

'What exactly are you trying to suggest, Deputy?' I said in my most innocent voice, although it was still hard and icy. He held up his arms in defence and chuckled again.

'Nothing, nothing, don't worry about it,' he said, still chuckling as he turned away to leave.

'I wasn't worried about it,' I retorted back, trying to break down his cheery demeanour.

'Just try to stay out of trouble,' he called over his shoulder as he walked back over to the cruiser.

'Whatever,' I said under my breath as I walked back along the side walk. Although he didn't seem to be suspicious of me, I did notice how he watched me start the engine of the car and not look away until I was well out of sight of the house.

I was rattled and frustrated by my completely unhelpful visit to the Walcott house, so instead of going to the hospital, I just drove straight home. I figured I would drop by tomorrow. What could happen in one night anyway?


	4. Chapter 3 - Misunderstanding

A lot. A lot can happen in one night. I was currently stood frozen still in the hospital parking lot, surrounded by blue lights and rushing people. The mass of voices and chaos around me made my head spin and I struggled to get a grip on what was happening. However, one thing was certain: Sean was dead.

It was still very chaotic at the hospital, so I decided to drive home, stopping briefly at the store on the way to pick up a few groceries. As I pulled into my parking space however, I found it difficult to get out of the car. I felt I couldn't just go back to my apartment and carry on with my day like nothing had happened, like an entire family hadn't just been murdered. I couldn't pretend that I wasn't involved in anyway, I was on that list too, and above all I knew about it. I knew Sean would be in danger and I did nothing. But most importantly, I couldn't pretend that this horrific event hadn't affected me, because it had. I knew I didn't even know the kid, but somewhere deep in the back of my mind I had wondered what it would be like to know someone who was similar to me. I knew from what I had overheard a deputy say earlier that they had found a game locker in the Walcott household containing dozens on human bodies, and that this could only mean one thing. _Wendigo._ I knew we weren't the same, but we still would have had a tiny bit of a connection, we were both supernatural after all. That was another thing, this revelation about what Sean and his family were was a confirmation that I was right about the list. We were all supernatural, every single one of us. And this gave me hope. Hope for when I found _Scott._

So I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and hopped out of the car. By the time I was up the three flights of stairs and striding down the hallway I was rearing and ready to go.

I stripped off my leather jacket before I had even reached my apartment door, wanting nothing more than to get into action, right after a took a shower. As I approached the door however, I noticed that it was ajar. I could feel my heart quicken in my chest and a tightness in my lungs and I tried to force air in and out of them.

 _He had found me._

The urge to run was overwhelming - the thought of fleeing again to yet another state seeming very attractive. But I had to be sure.

I held my breath as I reached out a hand, pushing the door slightly so it screeched open. It was dark, but I could see well enough, the light from the dimly lit hallway flooding into my small apartment. I examined the door handle, well what was left off it. The metal was bent in an alarming way and wood splintered out from around the door frame as if someone had taken a pick axe too it.

I slowly entered the room, flicking on the light switch to illuminate it. It was unchanged from this morning, not a single item out of place. Even my hair towel from my shower this morning lay on the floor by the door from when I had thrown it down on my way out in a hurry.

I relaxed a little, although still not letting my guard down. I had to be very careful. I reached for the Glock I had down the back of my black jeans, flicking off the safety and readying my finger on the trigger. The apartment was very silent, almost too silent, only the sound of my deep breaths filling the room. I thought about calling the cops, but my many run ins with them so far may make them even more suspicious of me that they already were.

I continued to search around the rooms, finger braced on the trigger the whole time, until I was back in the living room. I sighed, thinking it could have been an ordinary break in. But then why didn't they take anything? I clicked the safety back on the dropped the Glock casually on the kitchen table along with my keys and making my way back over to the couch.

Suddenly I felt a sharp, flesh tearing pain in my back, the force of it knocking me forwards onto my knees. I tried to scream out, the pain almost unbearably, but blood pooled in my mouth and dribbled down my chin, causing me to choke and I coughed it out violently. I could feel my body trying to heal itself, trying to knit the bone and muscle back together, but something was wrong, as if there was something blocking the way. I felt behind my back for the thing, my fingers meeting metal. It felt like an axe, and I pulled at it desperately, trying to free it from my back.

Then I heard footsteps, my attacker approaching me. I tried to crawl away, but the blood loss had tired me and I felt like I might pass out at any instant. I felt him wrap his hand around the axe, or whatever it was and push it deeper into me. It tore through more of my rib cage, the bones snapping like twigs against the metal, the blade burying deeper into my chest cavity. I screamed out again, more and more blood flowing out of my mouth, warm and thick like oil. I could feel it on my back too, staining my shirt as it run onto the carpet. After one last thrust forward, he yanked the thing out of my back, ripping though the already healed bone, muscle and skin once again. I swear it must have taken half a lung with it too.

I groaned again, the relief of it being out of my back almost making my grateful. I whirled around, propping myself up on my elbows, breathing heavily. My attacker was making his way towards the door. I watched, bewildered, as he walked out of my apartment. He turned around in the door frame, lifting a finger to the place his mouth should have been before disappearing into the hall way.

I lay back on the carpet, not caring much that I was lying in a pool of my own blood. I didn't doubt that I was nearly, if not already, fully healed but the exhaustion hit me almost as hard as my attacker's axe.

After a moment, I pulled myself up, walking over to the sink. I rinsed out my mouth a few times under the tap, every mouthful of water filling the sink with crimson liquid. I wiped all around my face with a tea towel and made my way back over to the living room, grabbing my Glock on the way.

The carpet was worse than I thought. A large scarlet pool sat in the centre of the room, not all of it having sunken in to the floor yet. I decided not to try and bother to clean it up. I had been through this kind of situation more than enough times to know that I would have to get a new one.

Instead, I decided that a new door was my priority, but first, I would need to change – I couldn't be seen out in a bloodstained shirt twice in the space of 3 days.

Just as I was about to go and change, I heard a cop car pull up outside the apartment building. _This can't be good._ Before I had time to react a pair of deputies burst into the room through the broken door, firearms at the ready. I inwardly groaned when I recognised both of them, the taller man I had seen earlier outside the Walcott house, and the dark haired one – Haig I think he was called. I hated that son of a bitch.

When they saw it was me, they both physically relaxed, Haig surprisingly even putting his gun back in his belt. They both walked towards me.

'Are you alright?' the taller one said. 'We got a call from next door saying there was a break in. She said she didn't think you were home.'

'Oh,' I said, slightly surprised they weren't here on account of the screaming that _helpful_ neighbour must have heard too. 'Yes there was a break in, but I'm fine. They didn't take anything.' I hoped they would leave now, before they noticed all the blood that was covering me and half the room.

'Even so, I think we should take a look around, just in case,' Haig said, as if he was trying to sound brave like a hero. He should have learnt by now that I was no damsel in destress.

'That won't be necessary, thank you,' I said more sharply, a tight smile on my lips. I could see them deciding on whether or not they should leave, and I hoped they would.

Just as they were about to leave, the taller one's eyes widened and he turned back around to approach me. 'Hey! What's that on your shirt?' he asked worriedly, 'are you hurt?'

I shook my head franticly, words suddenly escaping me as I backed away. It was only then that I noticed I had been stood in shadow all this time, and now they could see me properly. I also realised that through all this conversation, I still had my Glock in my hand, arm pressed to my side, trying to make it disappear into the fabric of my jeans.

'Uh Parrish?' the dark haired one said, as his partner tried to examine me for wounds.

'What Haig?' He snapped at the other deputy. Parrish looked back at Haig to see him shinning a flash light into the living room. He followed the beam of light with his eyes until he saw the illuminated stain on the carpet, dark red blood spattered everywhere.

'What the hell happened?' Parrish said as he looked at the horrific scene that was my living room. I didn't know how to answer, and instead unconsciously looked down at my hands, drawing attention to what was in one of them.

It all happened in slow motion. Haig noticed the weapon clutched tightly in my shaky fingers first, hands finding his own in a flash and raising it to me. Then Parrish, noticing the movements of his partner, caught sight of my gun too, eyes widening and hands finding his pistol in a fraction of a second. Before I knew what was happening, four eyes and two guns were pointed straight for me.

'Drop your weapon!' I heard Parrish shout to my left. I raised my hands, as if to show I was unarmed, the gun held loosely between my fingers.

'Okay, this is not what it looks like,' I said innocently, a hint of coldness in my voice. I had just been attacked in my own apartment and I was tired.

'I said drop your weapon!' he yelled again, more forceful this time, knuckles whitening from his grip on the gun tightening.

'Okay! Okay,' I repeated, breathing heavily. I couldn't see either of them backing down anytime soon, so as I brought my hands in front of me and bent down, I took this opportunity to figure out my escape. I could throw myself through the large living room window. I knew I could survive the three story fall, but they didn't. I scratched that idea, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to showcase my abilities to a pair of cops, I didn't want to expose myself. I could just make a run for it. Even if they shot me it wouldn't do any long term damage. But then I would have the same problem of risking exposure.

Of course, I could just do what they said. Put the gun down, let them take me down to the station and answer a few questions. I hadn't technically done anything wrong. But then I would have to explain how at least three pints of my blood got spilled onto the carpet without me even having a scratch on me. That was never going to work. I'd probably end up in Eichen House, and I knew all too well what those kind of institutions were like, especially for people like me. That wasn't an option, and I was running out of time.

I could see them approaching me closer and closer as I was about to lay my weapon on the floor. Without thinking I jumped up, knocking the gun out of Haig's hand with the heal of my boot, before landing a solid punch to the left side of his face. Then, with Parrish distracted for a second with shock, I went for his gun, trying to grab it from of his tight grip whilst he was preoccupied. It didn't work. He saw me coming and was too fast, and a lot stronger than me. He caught my wrist and pushed me towards the wall, holding me there with his gun inches from my chest as Haig composed himself. He looked enraged that he could be disarmed by a weak little girl, but then again I wasn't that weak.

'Bitch!' he yelled at me, clutching his jaw, before retrieving his gun from where it has slid across the wooden floor. I breathed heavily under the strong grip of the deputy and cursed myself for being so stupid. My overthinking had caused me to panic, and then to lash out. I was supposed to be being careful, and so far in my time in Beacon Hills, I had done exactly the opposite of that.

Haig approached us, glaring at me as I stared blankly back at him, trying not to smirk at how angry I had made him. He whispered something in his partner's ear, and they continued in a quite conversation for a half a minute or so. I felt Parrish's hold on me slacken a little, obviously reassured by my lack of struggling and the gun he still held to my chest. This was my chance. And this time I wasn't going to screw it up.

The deputies wrapped up their conversation and Parrish turned his attention back to me, pulling me away from the wall and walking me towards the door of my apartment, one hand firmly on my upper arm. I saw my opportunity just before we reached the hall. Turning inwards towards the deputy I yanked him closer to me, kneeing him as hard as possible in the stomach. He doubled forward, momentarily fazed by my little stunt. I hurled myself back into the living room, dodging Haig effortlessly, his anger making him sloppy. I laughed coldly as I scooped my gun from its place on the floor.

I knew what I had to do now, however reckless or stupid it was.

In a flash I had my gun stuffed in the back of my jeans and was hurtling my body through the kitchen window.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter, things are starting to get a bit tricky for Alexia.**

 **Feel free to leave a comment/review if you want :)**


	5. Chapter 4 - Subdued

The impact of the shattering glass barely slowed me down, only being momentarily phased as a few shards of splintered glass were scattered into my skin. I brushed them off unconsciously, the minor wounds healing instantly once the debris were removed. I free fell for only a short time before my body collided with the conveniently placed fire escape that I had remembered about only a short while ago – it was a long way down, but not a great enough that it would be unlikely for someone to walk away from it. I felt something in my leg snap as I landed and I lost my balance for a second. Luckily it wasn't a compound fracture, they were a little trickier to set right. I straightened out my leg slowly, wincing at the sharp pain. It went away as quickly as it had arrived and I raced down the fire escape, only turning back once to see a pair of dazed faces at the now shattered window of my living room.

I darted to my car that was parked in the lot round the back of the apartment building, skidding to a stop at the driver's side. I rummaged in my pocket for the key.

'Shit,' I cursed out loud. The keys were still on my kitchen table. I frantically pulled on the door handle, knowing it was hopeless. I would never get in without the key.

Abandoning that plan when I heard the shouts of the two deputies, I raced out of the openness of the parking lot and back behind the apartment building. The alley way was dark. The building cast a shadow over the entire passageway so even though it couldn't've been noon yet, it may as well have been midnight. I heard the roar of an engine, sirens blasting almost immediately, but also still the slapping of shoes on tarmac. They must have split up, one in the cruiser, one on foot.

I decided to head downtown, there were more alleyways and abandoned buildings in that part of town – more places to hide. I winded through passage way after passage way, always keeping to the shadows and listening for the distant siren. All these backstreets were like mazes, or one big maze. They intertwined with each other like a vine growing frantically through Beacon Hills. I was playing cat and mouse with these two deputies, and I couldn't help but feel like history was repeating itself, for me anyway. Hadn't it barely been 3 years since I had been in a similar situation? Only then the backstreets were made of concrete and wire, and every turn was a dead end. This felt like sport in comparison. Back then it was real, I have never felt fear so intense since then. But now? This was just child's play.

I shook my head to clear the memories of my past, trying to evaporate the cold feeling that had infiltrated my bones. I pushed forward harder, my claves aching, and the feeling slowly went away, only leaving a tiny speck of its ice behind, the piece buried deep within my gut that would never go away.

I skidded to a holt as I rounded another corner, pressing my back against a hard brick wall, breathing heavily. I could no longer hear the slapping of shoes on the tarmac echoing through the alley way and the sound of sirens and distanced themselves so much they were almost gone. I let my head fall back against the wall, still breathing rapidly as I sighed, hoping I had lost them.

I walked to the end of the alley where it opened out onto the side walk. Suddenly the blaring siren sounded again at a much louder volume and I saw the cruiser barrelling down the road. I swear I locked eyes with the driver, just for a second before took off down the street. The vehicle was faster than me and overtook me, swerving to a stop so it was perpendicular to the road, blocking my path. An angry and slightly satisfied looking Haig launched himself out of the driver's seat as I darted backwards. He was slow, much slower than the other deputy (I figured that was why he took the cruiser) and I could maintain my distance from him for a while as we raced down the road. But just as I was passing the alleyway I was in earlier, a figure appeared from it and tackled me to the ground.

I was surprised at how little my skull hurt as it smacked on the tarmac road, but I guess being knocked off my feet was no way near as bad as jumping out of a window like I had endured earlier that day. I could hear the cruiser approaching, Haig obviously having run back to it and now driving over. Parrish held me, face down on the road, for a few moments as his partner made his way over. Although I couldn't see his face, I could hear him breathing heavily.

'What the hell were you thinking?' he asked between breaths, 'Are you insane or something?' His words surprised me. They were the kind you would say to a friend who had disappointed or scared you, not a suspected criminal you were hunting. Did our brief conversation the other day constitute friendship in his mind? It certainly didn't in mine, and after today, I doubted it ever would. I felt Parrish pull the weapon from my jeans and hand it to Haig who had just got out of the squad car.

'Crazy bitch,' Haig muttered, although I'm sure he intended for me to hear. He took over from Parrish who had me subdued on the tarmac and pulled me off the ground. I pathetically attempted to struggle, only to be slammed against the hood of the car, my face scorched on the sun heated metal. Despite the heat, the shiny handcuffs still felt cool against my wrists as the deputy put them on me. I waited for the fear, the panic, to erupt inside of me – the feelings I felt should be experienced when you get arrested – but they never surfaced. Somewhere deep inside I was disturbed by the thought that this ordeal hadn't affected me in the way it would a normal person. Sure, getting arrested was not exactly the best way to spend an afternoon, but I suppose the fact that it definitely wasn't the worst somehow comforted me. That was the most disturbing thing – the realisation that my life had become so warped and distorted that getting arrested didn't seem that bad.

I was yanked off the car roughly and pushed into the back seat of the squad car. Haig smirked through the window at me cockily and I immediately met it with a sarcastic eye role. _What a jackass_.

The trip to the station was relatively uneventful. The two deputies chatted a little but I didn't bother trying to listen in on their conversation. When we arrived at the station, Haig pulled me out of the back seat and marched us into the police building. I could see the smirk on his face and I rolled my eyes. He was enjoying this. He obviously felt this was some kind of payback for the right hook I sent him earlier that day. I should know better than to piss of a cop.

Rather than being escorted to a waiting room like I had been the last time I was there I was taken the opposite way, down a hall way and to a cell block. After Haig had locked the door he smirked at me through the cell. I smiled back at him sarcastically, wondering whether or not I should kick him through the bars. _Probably not the best idea, Alex_.

After he left I rested my head against the bars. The cell was small, claustrophobic, and I ached to be back in the comfort of my tiny apartment. Places like this, all concrete and metal, put me on edge. I contemplated asking for my phone call, but who would I call? No one knew I was in Beacon Hills, and even if they did, they wouldn't care. It was in that moment that I realised I was completely and utterly alone. No one I cared about, no one who cared about me. _Perfect_. Now I felt utterly depressed.

But at that moment, a strangely familiar voice floated through the hallways and into my cell.

'I'm here to see the Sheriff,' the voice said. I couldn't place it. I knew I had heard it before, but it was somehow different, deeper than before. The voice disappeared through another door I assumed and I was left alone with my thoughts once again.

The business of the station was clear. Obviously with an unsolved triple, well now quadruple, homicide on their hands, the Sheriff's department had their hands well and truly full. I had a hunch that right now I was probably a suspect, but I knew that after forensics had taken a look at my apartment, there would be no evidence whatsoever to link me to those murders, but explaining the reason my blood was spilled everywhere was sure going to be a bitch to explain. For now, maybe, I would try to keep my mouth shut. If they were really going to charge me with something, I was sure I would have seen someone more highly ranked than just that pair of deputies by now.

Suddenly my thoughts were cut off by footsteps echoing down the hall way. It was Parrish. He walked towards me, keys already in hand to unlock my cell.

'The Sheriff needs to ask you a few questions,' he said. I let him walk me down the corridor. He didn't need to, I wasn't going to try to run, but if it made him feel like he was more in control of the situation, or even just doing his job properly, I wasn't going to stop him.

I wasn't going to talk to him, I almost hated him as much as Haig, but something had been bothering me for a while and I needed to ask him.

'How long have you been working here?' He looked at me out of the corner of his eye as we walked, raising an eyebrow at me, and I almost thought he wasn't going to answer.

'Only about 4 months,' he replied after sighing.

'Oh so did you come here straight out of high school or what?' It was meant to be a demeaning comment, even though I was actually curious. But he only chuckled a little.

'I might be younger than the other deputies, but I have no less experience.' I scoffed at that and he shook his head. Experience? He looked only a few years older than me. But then again, my experiences of life in only the past few years was more than most people had in a lifetime.

We were now in the reception area. A few people were scattered around the space, but no one I recognised. Suddenly, the door to the station flew open and a lanky teenage boy stumbled through it. He straightened himself out, looking around wildly before he set his eyes on the front desk and half ran, half stumbled towards it. Once there he had a rushed conversation with the receptionist before turning away to answer his phone that must have been buzzing in his pocket. I listened as he answered it.

'Hey…yeah I'm there right now,' he said. 'I dunno, he's probably at the loft,' he answered again, it was hard to understand what was going on with just one half of the conversation. 'I don't know, Scott, can you just meet me at your house later?' _Scott_. Could it be the same one? Quite possibly, I thought. This kid on the phone looked like he could be a junior in high school. I took a mental note of his face, making sure I could recognise him again if I saw him. He had messy chocolate hair, along with a childish face and moles dotted along his cheek and jaw line. He hung up the phone and made for the exit, almost tripping up several times and I chuckled to myself.

We rounded a corner and walked into what looked like an interrogation room. It had one of those special mirrors and everything. I couldn't help but feel a little amused. Another thing to tick of the bucket list.

After being sat down, Parrish went and stood by the door as two other men walked in. The first was a tall man, he was visually much older than Parrish and wore an expensive looking suit, rather than a uniform. He must be important. The second man I recognised. He was the older man I had seen briefly last time I was in the station. A slightly grubby Sheriff's badge hung from his breast pocket.

I expected the Sheriff to be the one to sit down opposite me, but the tall, dark haired one sat down instead.

'I understand that you were here a few weeks ago to give a witness statement on an incident that occurred near the preserve, is that correct?'

'Yeah that's right.' I said bluntly, why was he bringing this up?

'And on the forms you filled in your name as...' he looked at the forms to show he was reading exactly what I said, 'Katherine Crester, is that correct?' He looked up from the form to meet my eyes and I could tell instantly that this guy didn't take shit from anyone.

'Yeah, that's correct,' I said calmly, trying to sound as truthful as possible.

'See the thing is, I checked the code on the firearm you were carrying, concealed _illegally,_ and it turns out, this weapon is registered under the name of Dylan Bristol,' he held up the gun in a clear evidence bag, 'so how about after you tell me how this weapon got into your possession, you tell me your real name?'

I glared at him, not quite sure what to say, so I decided just to stay silent.

'If you cannot produce a legal form of identification and tell us your real name, we're gonna have a problem.' His tone was patronising and it was all I could do not to kick him under the desk just to wipe that expression off of his face.

'Well I guess we're gonna have a problem then,' I said through gritted teeth. I really hated this guy.

He sighed, thinking of a new angle he could try to get some answers.

'How about you tell me how, according to the deputies who picked you up earlier, your apparent came to look like the set of a horror movie? Did you have a fight with the person who had broken into your apartment? If it was self-defence, we might be able to figure something out.'

'I don't know what happened,' I said, trying to buy time whilst I thought of an explanation.

'I find that very hard to believe,' he said. I couldn't help but laugh. If he found that hard to believe, how would he find the truth. Would it be easier for him to believe that a mouthless assassin broke into my apartment and threw an axe into my back? That then I miraculously walked away unscathed after losing at least 3 pints of blood? There was no way he was going to believe any of that. The best thing for me to do was to stay quiet. 'Is something funny?' he asked. I just shook my head.

'Agent McCall?' the Sheriff spoke now. 'I doubt we'll get anything useful out of her today. Can I suggest we let her sleep on it? She might feel like talking after spending a night in a cell.'

'Doubtful,' I said under my breath, only then did the first part of what the Sheriff said registering in my head. I snapped my head up and looked at the tall man. 'Agent McCall?'

'Yes?' he said, obviously bored with me now and wanting to move on to another case.

'As in Scott McCall?' I asked, my heart now thudding in my chest.

'You know Scott?' the Sheriff asked, looking dubious.

'Not exactly…' I said, not really sure where I was going with this. Suddenly, Agent McCall slammed his hands on the desk, alarming me and everyone else in the room.

'What do you want with my son?' he all but yelled across the table, his tone icy and cold, but above all protective.

'Nothing… I just… I need to talk to him.' Yeah, like that's ever going to happen now. He looked like he was going to shout again, but the Sheriff placed a shaky hand on his shoulder, getting him to stand down.

'Agent McCall,' he said in a warning tone, 'this conversation is over.'

With that, Agent McCall and the Sheriff left the room. Parrish come over and stood me up, walking me over to the door. It was then that another man came over, also dressed in a deputy uniform, but I didn't recognise him. He whispered something to Parrish about some paper work or something and that he would take over escorting me back to my cell.

As we walked through the hall, I brushed passed another man. He was tall with dark hair and finely shaved stubble over his chiselled jaw line that could cut glass. I caught his eye for a second and he gaze lingered on my slightly longer than it should have, an odd look of recognition in his eyes. But before I had a chance to question him, we had rounded another corner and I found myself down a hall I didn't recognise. I instant sense of uneasiness took over me. We were not heading back to my cell. I also noted how the deputy's grip had tightened on my arms, and it was much tighter than Parrish's to begin with. I struggled slightly, only to find that his fingers pressed even harder into my arm, and I was sure the blood vessels were bursting and healing over and over again under the skin.

Panic started to set in. Something about this didn't seem right. As we were about to round another corner I caught sight of our reflection in the window. To my horror, the man was holding a large needle attached to a syringe, ready to plunge it into my side at any moment. I gasped and wriggled harder, trying to get away. This surprised him and he dropped the needle on the ground, but I didn't hear it smash. He wrapped his arms around me from behind in a grip so hard it forced most of the air out of my lungs. I used his weight advantage against him and pushed him backwards slamming us against the wall, though he took most of the impact. He groaned loudly, his breathing shallow, I must have winded him. It took the opportunity to shout for help, this guy was strong, and clearly not a deputy. I managed to untangle myself from his grip and start to run down the corridor, but he was faster than me. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked backwards, causing me to scream as I fell to the ground, my head cracking on the hard floor. My vision went very blurry for a second, black spots starting to appear. I blinked rapidly, although I knew it wouldn't make me heal any faster. I saw him pick up the needle and syringe from the ground, and this gave me enough time to heal, mostly, and jump back up.

I kicked at his legs, and got in a few punches to his face. He was fast though, and it was all I could do to avoid the needle he was swiping at me like it was a dagger. I could hear footsteps approaching, sprinting down the corridor. Two pairs I thought. This distracted me, allowing the 'deputy' to push me hard against the wall, hand going straight to my throat and squeezing. It wasn't enough to suffocate me, and he knew that, but it was enough to make it uncomfortable enough for me to not be able to fight anymore. He raised the needle to my chest as I panted rapidly, trying to force as much air into my lungs as possible to gather enough strength to fight back. I grabbed onto his wrist with both hands, trying to stop the needle from plunging into my chest. The footsteps were getting louder and louder and I heard a voice shout 'hey!' from the end of the corridor.

The needle was only millimetres from my skin, and after one last effort from me, my attacker forced the needle through my skin, causing me to squirm. Before I knew what was happening, the man who had me pressed to the wall was being tackled to the ground by none other than Deputy Parrish, but not before he had time to press the plunger on the syringe and inject me with whatever its contents was.

For a moment, nothing was different, I felt fine. I saw that the other pair of footsteps belonged to the man I had brushed passed earlier. He frowned at me, and I wasn't sure if it was with concern or confusion. He clearly recognised me, but I had no idea who he was. Before I could speak, the familiar sting of a substance I knew all too well was running through my veins. It burned everywhere and I felt like I was on fire. I had felt this exact pain only a few times before, but I immediately knew what had been used to poison me. Cyanide.

My vision begun to rapidly blur and I clutched the wall pathetically for support, clawing at it with my nails to keep myself upright. The man held my shoulders, keeping me from collapsing to the ground. He was trying to talk to me, but my increasingly foggy mind couldn't decipher the words. I tried to hold onto him, my head spinning, veins seething under my skin. Finally, my legs buckled from underneath me and I felt my head smack against the floor. The darkness consumed me.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you liked it. Who do you think the Deputy was who attacked her?**


	6. Chapter 5 - Great Expectations

My pupils burned under my eye lids. I was slowly regaining consciousness, cell by cell. The muffled noises around me were starting to differentiate between voices and footsteps. I could feel that I was lying on a cold, hard surface. It felt metallic.

I heard a door slam and the voices melted into silence. Peeling my eyes open I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was in some kind of clinical vicinity, lying on a large metal table. It reminded me of a morgue but didn't quite possess the same qualities. There were no body lockers for one thing. It still however, had the ability to set my teeth on edge.

I made for the door, but just as I was reaching for the handle I heard the voices outside. They were much clearer now and I could make out patches of their hushed conversation.

'I should call my dad,' one voice said, only to be followed by a mass of disagreement. I recognised the voice from the station a few hours ago. He was the awkward teenager on the phone. The one who knew Scott.

'What do we do when she wakes up?' another voice said. I couldn't make out what he replied as my ears were met with just a mass of whispering.

'I still think we should just kill her.' A different voice said, this one much harder, and also slightly familiar.

'We're not gonna kill her, okay?' the second voice said.

I sensed that they may come back into the room soon so I slowly backed away from the door, looking for another way out. I wasn't worried about them killing me. Even if they tried they wouldn't be able too. I just had to leave.

As I backed away my leg hit the table, sending a large clanging noise around the room. I cursed myself for being so careless and braced myself for what was to come.

The door swung open and crashed against one of the metal counters. An older man I didn't recognise strode through the door first, followed by the other three. The boy, the one I recognised stumbled through the door last, flailing his arms around trying to keep balance. Once he had composed himself he went to stand next to one of the others, who looked about the same age as him. He stood slightly in front of him, as if to protect him, but at the same time had an expression on his face that said he knew if the time came, he was powerless to protect his friend.

'Going somewhere?' the other man said. He was also at the station. The one who brushed passed me in the corridor and then unexpectedly come to my rescue. I wondered what role he played in all of this, he was clearly involved.

I hissed at him, not liking the condescending smirk he was sending me.

'That's enough Derek,' the older man said. I raised my eyebrows at the name. Derek? I looked back at the other man and studied his face. It couldn't be him, could it? The boy who was arrested only a week ago. He had aged at least 6 years since I last saw him. If I wasn't what I was, this would have sent me over the edge, but I was. And I knew things. I knew it was better to accept the impossible than to live a life of denial. This was him. Impossibly, this was Derek Hale.

He sent me a glare, as if to say stop staring, but I knew he must know that I knew who he was. It was impossible to mistake those eyes. But I had to test my theory.

'You know, I think I preferred you as a teenager,' I sneered at him, sending him my own smirk.

A low growl grumbled in his chest and I was pleased with myself at being able to make him angry.

'Wait, what?' the lanky boy said. 'Do you two know each other?'

'No!' Derek growled at the boy, glare still fixed on me.

'What are you talking about,' I said in an innocent voice, pretending to sound hurt. 'I've known Derek since he was just 16.'

He growled again.

'Oh God,' the boy said again, then he turned to Derek. 'She's not another homicidal girlfriend is she?' he whispered far too loudly.

'Shut up, Stiles,' Derek hissed. I raised an eyebrow at him and he looked away from me in annoyance. I just smirked.

'Stop it, okay! We don't have time for this,' the other boy said, speaking for the first time.

'Scott's right, she's here for him, not Derek,' the older man said, his words catching my attention.

'Scott?' I turned to the boy. 'You're Scott McCall?'

'Yeah,' the boy said tentatively. 'I heard you've been looking for me. Why?' he asked, getting straight to the point.

'You're on the list,' I said simply, hoping he knew what I was talking about. Derek growled again and the other boy, Stiles, took a protective step forward. They all knew.

'You're here to kill me?' he asked, voice still quiet and tentative.

'No Scott. I'm not here to kill you,' I said, never breaking eye contact with him. Something in his eyes told me he believed me, but there was still a hint of suspicion.

'Then why are you here?' I held his gaze for a moment before glancing at the other three.

He took the hint and turned to his friends. 'Could you guys just give us a second?'

'What? No,' Stiles said, as if it was obvious. Scott sent him a pleading look. 'No! Scott, you can't trust her,' he said.

'Please Stiles?' he asked his friend.

Stiles finally nodded in defeat and exited the room, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder before he went. The older man followed closely behind him. Derek Hale, however, made no effort to move away from his position.

'Derek,' Scott prompted, sending the him a pleading looked. Derek straightened up and reluctantly walked over to the door, giving me the most intimidating look he could muster. I just replied with a hard glare of my own, not feeling remotely threatened by his unfriendly gesture.

Once the door had clicked shut and I was alone with the teenager, I felt I could relax a little, although I still didn't let my guard down.

'Is he always like that?' I questioned, not sure how we should begin our little chat.

'Who? Derek?' I nodded. 'Yeah pretty much, but you'll get used to it'. I frowned slightly at his words. Did he think I would be sticking around in this town long enough to _get_ used to it?

I shook my head, trying to clear it. I needed to focus on why I was here. I had been searching for this kid for a while and now that I had finally found him, I needed to make the most of the short time we might have. I reached into my back pocket, pulling out the slip of paper and smoothing it out on the table in front of me.

'You've seen this before?' I clarified with him as I watched him scan the names and numbers. He nodded. 'And do you understand what it is?' I wanted to make sure we were on the same page before we continued any further.

'Yeah, it's a dead pool of all the supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills. What I don't understand is how you have it. Why did you come here looking for me if you don't want to kill me?' He looked like he had even more questions for me that he might burst, but he shut his mouth giving me a chance to answer a few.

'You see this name?' I asked, pointing to the letters forming my name.

'Alexia Marshall? What has she got to do with anything?'

'It's me. That's my name.' I said. I could see the cogs turning in his brain and he had this unreadable expression on his face that was a mixture between confused and complete understanding.

'You said your name was Katherine?'

'I lied,' I said flatly, 'it's just an alias'. I thought he would press me more for answers but he just nodded and remained silent for a long moment.

Then something clicked in his brain.

'If you're on that list, you must be supernatural.' I nodded at him, he was finally catching on. 'And we're worth the same amount.'

'Yes Scott, that's why I'm here.' His eyes widened in realisation.

'You're like me, aren't you? You're a true alpha.' His words were like a sword being punched through my stomach, the blade jagged and sharp tearing at the rapidly healing flesh. The hope in his puppy dog eyes was so real, so raw, that I considered lying just to make him happy. But I knew I had to tell the truth.

'No, no I'm not a werewolf,' I said softly, trying to weaken the blow I was sending his was.

His face fell at my words. Clearly he had been thinking the same as me for a short while. That we were the same. That somewhere out there, there was someone who knew exactly what he had been through. But we weren't the same. And once again I was left feeling more alone than ever.

'But... But you're on the list',' the teen said, confused. 'If you're not a werewolf, what are you?'

'That's not important. This was a mistake,' I sighed as I run my fingers through my dark locks, 'I never should have come here.' With that I turned to leave but just as my hand touched the metallic door handle there was a shout from behind me.

'Wait!' Scott pleaded. 'You can't just leave!'

'Watch me.' My words came out cold and harsh and I stayed facing the door, my back to the teen wolf behind me.

'No, all of us, everyone on that list is in danger, and if we wanna survive, we have to stick together. You can't run from this!'

At his words I whipped my head around, now looking at him dead in the eye. 'Yes I can. I've been running my entire life from people like this,' I said, holding up the hand that the list was in, now crumpled inside my fist. 'And if you think for one second that you with your Halloween party of teenagers stands a chance against trained killers then you're an idiot. You saw what happened to that kid Sean and his family! These people don't take prisoners! Sticking together is suicide.' By the end of my rant I was out of breath. Tears had started to form in my wild eyes and I wouldn't be surprised if Scott thought I was crazy. I probably was by now.

'But maybe you don't have to keep running. And if just wanting to protect my friends makes me an idiot, then fine, I'm the biggest idiot in the world'. His tone was soft, sad and caring, and only slightly defeated. At hearing his words, my anger melted away, only to be left with great sorrow and an unfamiliar feeling of empathy. My heart ached for this kid and his friends. I knew all too well what he was going through, to be afraid and unsure of who you can trust. To feel an omnipresent air of impending doom that you cannot ever quite shake. I felt the tears brimming under my eyes start to fall and I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

'I'm sorry Scott, I don't have a choice,' I said, not able to meet his eyes anymore.

'Yes you do.' He sighed. 'Look, we don't know how big this thing is. And we don't know when it stops, or if it will ever stop! My guess is that it won't until every single person on that list is gone. We have to find a way to stop it, and we can't do it alone.'

This was strange for me. I couldn't remember a time when anyone had ever needed _my_ help. No one had ever needed me, and although the thought of risking everything for a couple of strangers wasn't that appealing, I couldn't help but like the feeling of being needed.

I sighed, knowing I would probably regret this decision in the long run. 'How many people do you know on this list?' Scott's eyes seemed to brighten slightly.

'Only a few,' he paused, 'but we think there is another one, two more actually.'

'Two?' I repeated, slightly horrified.

'The numbers,' he said, pointing to the list I had unfolded in my hands, 'we think they're gonna add up to 117 when we've decoded the other lists.'

'117?' I questioned, not fully understanding yet.

'117 million,' he said, a slightly scared but determined look on his face.

'Well shit.'

* * *

 **A.N: Sorry this one was quite short. The next one will be longer, I promise!**

 **How do you think Scott and the others will react when they find out about her ability?**


	7. Chapter 6 - First Encounters

I was standing, back resting on the metal desk, in what I now knew was an animal clinic. After Scott had filled me in on everything from Lydia, the banshee, to some guy named Peter's mysterious volt full of bearer bonds that had been stolen – the 117 million suspected of being used to fund the hit list – the three others, who had been standing outside listening intently to every word, came in.

I had so many questions for all of them, but it was clear they had many for me too. I couldn't let them do all the talking, they would never trust me, so I decided that the truth was best. Derek seemed the most suspicious of me. I had learnt from Scott that he was also a werewolf and that didn't surprise me. I wondered how many more of them there might be.

'So are you gonna tell us what you are or what?' Derek said bluntly. He seemed agitated that no one else had brought it up and also the fact that he had no idea. I knew enough about werewolves from previous run ins with them to know they had great instincts, but not when it came to me. At Derek's question, all eyes turned to me and I knew what I had to do.

'It's not really a what…' I trailed off, not sure how I would explain this. 'It's more of an ability, something I can do.'

'What do you mean?' Scott asked, obviously curious.

'I'm not like you guys, a shapeshifter I mean. I guess I'm more like your friend Lydia, it's Lydia right? The banshee?' I said. I was starting to ramble and I needed to focus.

'So you're a banshee?' asked Stiles, looking more suspicious than any of them. It almost made me laugh how much it was clear he didn't trust me one bit.

'No, umm,' I carried on, looking around for something I could use, 'it's probably easier if I just show you.' I found a scalpel in a draw and pulled it out, flicking up the blade. I took a deep breath before running the blade along the full length of my arm. In a split second, the wound had healed itself completely, and I wiped off the blood with my sleeve, revealing no scar or marking where the blade had cut straight through my skin.

The other's stared for a second, the older man I had yet to learn the name of looking the most puzzled, but above all fascinated by what he had just seen. Derek, however, did not share the same look of amazement.

'That's it? You can heal really fast?' I narrowed my eyes at him. He was so different from the kid I had met only a week ago, I wondered what must had happened to cause him to become so sour and bitter towards people.

'That's it?' I repeated his words icily. This guy was really getting on my nerves now. 'It's enough to get my name on that list, isn't it? It's enough to have two attempts on my life only today!' They looked at me, bewildered for a second, probably because of my outburst. I felt so drained after today, all I really wanted to do was go home and take a shower.

'Wait,' Stiles started, 'did you just say two? Who was the other one?'

'Some freak with no mouth turned up at my apartment this morning.'

'The mute,' Derek said grimly, 'he was the one who killed the Walcott family.' I widened my eyes at this. I felt like all the missing pieces of my puzzle were coming together now, well maybe only a few, but it still helped.

'Yeah, well he buried an axe in my back earlier. And got me arrested.' I said angrily.

'Tomahawk.' The words came from the awkward teen who was nodding his head.

'What?' I asked him, annoyed by his sudden interruption.

'It's called a tomahawk,' he said, gesturing to his own back with wild arms as if there was something stuck in it. I sent him a look that shut him up instantly and caused him to stumble backwards a few feet.

Scott was the next one to speak. 'So uh, how much damage can you heal from exactly?' he asked, but his face had this look on it that said he didn't really want to know the answer. I stared at him, not really wanting to answer. 'You said your ability was enough to get you on the list, but it's also enough to get you at the top of it – with the highest price,' he said. I admired his logic. 'So how much damage can you heal from?'

'A lot,' I said, only that wasn't exactly the truth.

'Even death?' the new voice startled me. It was from the older man. His voice was soft and his face told me he was genuinely intrigued by my abilities. It also told me that he already knew the answer to his question. I didn't say anything from a few moments, no one did. They just all stared at me, waiting for my answer. 'Cyanide.' He said simply, all eyes in the room turning from me back to him. He held a small needle and syringe in his hand – I guessed Derek must have picked it up from the station before he brought me here. 'That's what the 'deputy' injected you with earlier. But, you already knew that, didn't you Alexia?' He asked. It was strange hearing my name come from another person's lips. I so rarely told anyone my true identity now, but the fact that I didn't have to lie to these people felt kind of nice.

'Yeah.' I said, not really sure how I should continue. 'Who are you? Are you like their fairy godmother or something?' I said, a sarcastic quality to my voice.

'No, I'm a veterinarian. My name is Dr Deaton.' I laughed at this, I shallow, unreal laugh that was filled with bitterness. He sure was knowledgeable about the supernatural for a veterinarian.

'So what?' Stiles said, and I braced myself for the next part of his sentence, 'You're like immortal or something? You can't die?'

'No I can die. Trust me, I can die. I just find it a little tricky staying that way.'

'How old are you?' Stiles asked, he looked like he had so many questions, but I didn't feel like answering them all tonight.

'19.'

'How did you find out about your ability?' Derek asked. 'How do you know so much about the supernatural?'

'That's a story for another time,' I said finally. I really needed to get home and have a shower. I made for the door, but Derek beat me to it, grabbing my arm roughly. 'Would you mind taking your little werewolf paws the _hell_ off me!' I seethed at him. Who did he think he was? He couldn't keep me here, none of them could.

The wolf made no effort to move, so I kicked in right in the stomach with the heal of my boot. He let go almost instantly. I heard a deep growl rumble in his chest, causing me to smirk. I don't know why but pissing people off always gave the greatest sense of satisfaction. I was good at it too.

'Enough!' Scott shouted. 'If we want this to work, we're gonna have to work together, which means we need to trust each other.' He looked tired, and exasperated, like trust between his pack was all he ever worked for.

'I don't trust anyone,' I said coldly, brushing my sleeve off from where Derek had grabbed me.

'Well good, because none of us trust you,' Derek replied, glaring at me with his deep green eyes. I groaned in annoyance, not feeling like anything I had said this whole time had gotten through to any of them.

'Let me just be clear on one thing, I'm not here to make friends, or be part of your pack or whatever you've got going on here,' I said, gesturing at all of them with my hands. 'I'm here to stop whoever's trying to kill us, that's it. I'm outta here as soon as this is over.' With that I turned around and strode out of the room, pushing through the reception desk area and through the gate.

But one thing caught my attention just before I walked out of the door.

'Scott,' Stiles started, 'did you see that?' the teen asked his friend.

'Yeah,' the alpha replied, 'she walked straight through the mountain ash.'

* * *

The next day I found myself back in my apartment. It was early and I had been woken by the relentless sound of my phone ringing. At first I had decided to ignore it, the number was unknown and I couldn't think of anyone anyway who would be calling me. But after the sixth time it went off, I had to answer it, just to stop the noise from driving me crazy.

'What?' I said angrily down the phone, hoping to scare the recipient shitless just so they would hang up.

'Is uh… is this Alexia,' the familiar voice said, and I groaned down the phone at the irritating teen.

'Stiles? What do you want? And how the hell did you get my number?!' I all but yelled at him down the phone.

'I uh… was wondering if we could talk? I can pick you up in my jeep?'

I smacked my hand against my head. What had I gotten myself into? I wanted nothing more than to hang up and crawl back into bed, but I knew he would just keep calling and calling.

'Ugh fine, sure,' I said, giving in.

'Good, cause I'm outside.' I whipped my head around and stumbled out of my room, coming face to face with my new door. At the window stood a teen with a phone to his ear; he was pulling and goofy smile and waving awkwardly at me through the glass.

Groaning again, I hung up the phone and yanked the door open. He greeted me with a 'hey' that made it sound like we were friends. We weren't friends. He also didn't hesitate to walk straight into the living room without an invitation, plopping himself down on the couch, making himself comfortable.

'By all means, come in,' I said sarcastically. He ignored my comment, instead staring at my attire of a tank top and tartan pyjama shorts, along with my hair tied messily on top of my head in a bun. His eyes widened.

'Oh, did I wake you?' he asked, sounding vaguely worried he was being an inconvenience, which he was.

'No, I've been up for hours,' I said, narrowing my dark eyes at him. He seemed not to notice the sarcasm again and instead took this opportunity to look around in my apartment.

'Hey, how did you know where I live?' I asked, puzzled at how he could have just turned up on my door step.

'My dad's the Sheriff.' That's all he needed to say. I stayed glaring at him for a few more minutes before angrily excusing myself to go and change, but not before telling him to stay put – I didn't want him snooping around.

I quickly threw on a pair of black jeans, a top and my leather jacket, picking up my boots on the way out of my room and shoving my feet into them when I reached the front door. Stiles, noticing I was ready, scrambled to his feet, almost tripping over the corner of the couch. He raced over to me before abruptly stopping just outside the doorway. I wondered if he always moved like he couldn't control his limbs. I was given my answer when he stumbled over the trash can, falling flat on his face.

I didn't bother to wait for him, striding down the steps to the ground floor, huffing as I passed him on the floor. He caught up with me quickly and showed me to his baby blue jeep. I noticed a figure in the passenger seat, scruffy brown hair piled on top of his head. It was Scott.

He greeted me pleasantly enough as I slid into the back seat and we made our way onto the main road.

* * *

'So, the Walcott's were the first. At least the first that we know about. Four murders. Sean, his brother, and their parents. They were killed by a professional assassin called The Mute. Weapon of choice, a military tomahawk. But then The Mute was killed by Peter Hale after he tried to blow up Derek with a Claymore mine. Next was Demarco. He delivered a keg to the party at Lydia's lake house. And got decapitated outside his car.'

I was currently sat behind the door to the Sheriff's office, listening to Stiles explain the events of the past few days to his father. He had yet to introduce me into the story, probably waiting until the Sheriff understood everything that had happened so far, before he decided to throw me into the mix.

'And then last night, 23-year-old Carrie Hudson.' Stiles continued, explained the next person to be picked off the list.

'It's a dead pool. A hit list of supernatural creatures. This is only part of it. The rest still has to be decoded,' Scott chimed in.

'Who found this list?' the Sheriff questioned.

'Lydia.'

'How?'

'She wrote it. Actually, she transcribed it. Without realizing it,' Stiles explained.

'Banshee?' the Sheriff asked.

'Banshee.' I almost laughed at the interactions between Stiles and his father, they were very comical.

'Beautiful. All right, what are these numbers next to the names?' the Sherriff asked.

'We're getting to that. First, you need to know that the code was broken with a cipher key.' Stiles explained. Scott had explained to me the previous afternoon about how the list was found by the banshee. I wondered what it would be like to meet her – would she scream at the very sight of me? I had heard rumours about banshee. They could sense death, feel it with every pore of their skin, and, especially after yesterday, I reeked of it.

'You mean, like a... Like a key word?' asked the Sheriff.

'It's actually a name.' the teen replied grimly.

With a sigh, Scott mumbled 'Allison.' The word was filled with sadness and grief, but also fondness and love. I had yet to learn the meaning of this name and who it belonged to. I had a feeling her and Scott were more than just friends.

'Her name broke a third of the list.' Stiles clarified. 'And now we think there's two other cipher keys.'

'Which will give us the rest of the names,' said the Sheriff, starting to put together the piece of the jigsaw we didn't quite know the full size of. 'Okay. So how do we get the cipher keys?'

'Same way we got the code.'

'Lydia. She's been out at the lake house all weekend trying to find the other two key words.' Scott finished. Now that the Sheriff was up to date, well almost, it was time for him to ask questions. He pulled out a copy of the hit list, or Dead Pool as Stiles was now calling it, and scanned the names.

'You didn't know about Demarco or Carrie. Hmm?' the Sheriff mused, 'And what about these other three names on the list? Uh, Kayleen Bettcher, Alexia Marshall and Elias Town. They werewolves too?' I cringed a little at the sound of my own name as I considered making a run for it out of the station. Stiles had informed me in the car that we needed to tell his father about me, and I had reluctantly agreed. Now, however, I was having second thoughts.

'I don't know about Kayleen or Elias,' Scott started, clearly not sure how to approach this.

'But you know Alexia?' the Sheriff asked.

'You could say that,' Scott said under his breath, but if it was loud enough for me to hear, the Sheriff certainly would have too.

'You've met her too actually,' Stiles chimed in, trying to save his friend.

'I have?' the Sheriff asked

'Yeah, but she went by a different name. Katherine Crester ring any bells?' Although I couldn't see I could tell the Sheriff must have raised his eyes brows, followed by a sigh as he sat down in his desk chair.

'I'm not going to like where this is going am I?' There it was, that was my cue to leave.

'Well hopefully you won't mind too much...' Stiles started, and I could hear footsteps approaching the door I was behind, 'because she's right outside.' I had no time to run, I had to face the Sheriff whether I liked it or not.

The door swung open and I tentatively stepped inside, the Sheriff eying me up and down suspiciously. I let Scott and Stiles do all the talking, explaining about my ability, including the explanation of how my apartment came to look like the set for a horror movie. He seemed to accept everything they were saying, but still looked at me with distrustful eyes.

'Alexia,' the Sherriff started, 'I trust that you're not planning on getting arrested again anytime soon.'

'Yes Sir,' I said politely.

'And you understand that I can't release the firearm you were carrying back to you?' he asked and I noticed Stiles' head snap towards me. Seriously, was it such a big deal that I had a gun?

'Yes, I understand,' I said, sending Stiles a glare.

'Okay, well I can let you off this time, tell the others it was a misunderstanding,' he said with a sigh. I nodded at him in thanks and he visibly relaxed, excepting me as just another citizen in his town that needed to be protected.

* * *

 **AN: So Alex had finally me everyone (well almost...)**

 **Are you guys enjoying the story so far? What do you think will happen next?**


	8. Chapter 7 - Bad Dreams

I somehow found myself later that day sitting on the couch in Stiles' living room, alone in the teenager's house. Scott had worked out that the person who killed Demarco, a werewolf on the list, had to be a student at Beacon Hills. The idea of a teenage killer set my teeth on edge more than a little but I was trying my best not to show it. If I had learnt one thing it was that showing any sign of weakness, even just a little, was never a good idea.

After leaving the station, Stiles had somehow convinced me to wait in his house while he drove Scott home. I had a hunch that he also wanted to call his girlfriend, Malia, who was with Lydia at the lake house and didn't want me listening in to his conversation. Although I had proved that I was no threat to them like they had originally thought, it was clear he still didn't trust me. Given this, it was surprised he had left me alone in his house at all, even if it was only for half an hour or so. I kept myself occupied in that short time, flicking through Stiles' collection of DVDs and helping myself to whatever I could find in the fridge – I figured he wouldn't mind.

After a long forty-five minutes, I was ready to leave. I hated sitting around doing nothing, it made me feel useless and unhelpful, even if all I ever helped was myself. But since I was giving this team player thing a go now, I felt I really should do all I could to help my new 'friends' even if I disliked every single one of them. I sat back down on the couch, figuring pacing around the teens living room would not help the time go any faster, and closed my eyes, willing time to speed up.

I found myself to be slowly drifting into unconsciousness, the couch becoming hard and granular, the walls of the room shrinking in around me. I was back in my nightmare _._

 _Crumbling dirt filled the small space I had and I pushed against it, trying the supress the ever growing weight that was crushing my lungs. But suddenly, unlike any other time in one of my nightmares, I pushed straight through the mud and dirt, my hand finding the freezing but open air above me. I clawed at the earth, rays of light bursting through the soil into my shallow grave. I lifted my head, sitting up and clambering out of the ground, only to find myself in a house. A house I didn't recognise._

 _Looking down the hallway and out of the open front door, however, I recognised the street. This was the Walcott house. I recognised the path leading up to the front porch and the entrance to the house was still littered with police tape. I frowned, confused as to why I was there. I whirled around suddenly when I heard footsteps and gasped when I came face to face with a boy I recognised. All he was wearing was a pair of sweat pants, the same as he was when I found him in the middle of the road. It was Sean, looking as fragile and terrified as he had the night I saw him outside the hospital. I opened my mouth to speak to him but was cut off by a violent cough. Suddenly, thick black blood spirted from his mouth and he convulsed uncontrollably where he stood. I held my hand to my mouth in shock as blood continued to spew down his chin before he collapsed face down, completely motionless. It was then that I noticed the others. The other bodies. Three of then stacked at the bottom of the stairs, all coated with thick, sticky blood._

 _I turned around, running straight for the front door, but before I made it outside, I stopped abruptly, dead in my tracks. Outside on the front porch was a similarly horrific view. Bodies littered the yard, all lifeless and morbid. I recognised the nearest one. It was Scott, eyes open and wide with shock, now glazed over and milky. I recognised the person beside him too. It was Derek. Even Deputy Parrish was there. As I slowly walked towards them, I felt my heart beat pick up, fear and dread, along with the revulsion of seeing such a horrendous site, pulsed through my veins. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end just before a hand shot out from behind me to grab my shoulder and I let out a scream that could shatter glass._

I sat up, eyes wide awake as I panted wildly. I was so wound up from my dream that it took me a solid ten minutes to calm down before I realised I was in my own bed. In my own apartment. I frowned at this, suddenly all the terror from my dream dissolving into confusion. Stiles' must've come home, picked me up and brought me back. I guess he knew where my apartment was and just didn't want to wake me. I pulled back the duvet and made my way back into my lounge, stretching my arms above my head and tying my hair up into a messy bun. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, making me jump. I chuckled at myself for being so on edge after what was just a silly bad dream. I wasn't a child anymore, I needed to start acting like and adult and getting freaked out over nightmares was not helping anyone.

I walked over to the door and opened it. I was surprised when I saw Stiles facing me.

'Stiles?' I asked, baffled by his sudden appearance. My voice was soft, much quieter than my angry tone that had greeted him this morning. Although I wouldn't ever admit it, the kid turning up at my doorstep again didn't irritate me half as much as it did worry me. 'What are you doing here?'

There was no reply, the kid just looked at me with dark eyes that held no emotion. It was then I noticed how pale he was, he looked freezing. I thought about pulling him into the apartment and offering him a hot drink or something, but I couldn't. I was frozen still, not being able to look away from his eyes that seemed to stare straight through me. His eyes then seemed to focus, not on me, but as if he were looking at something, no someone, standing right behind me. I watched as he raised an index finger to his lips, causing my stomach to plummet. I whirled around again, only for a face that made my spine turn to ice to meet my eyes. A face I hadn't seen in almost 2 years.

It was _him._

He had found me. He walked towards me in large, intimidating strides, a macabre smile on his crooked lips, and when he was close enough to hear my strangled breaths and feel the fear radiating off of me, I screamed again, only this time, it felt as real as it had the first time we met.

* * *

'What the hell, Stiles!' I yelled in irritation as the teen threw a tumbler of water over my shaking form on his couch.

'Sorry!' he said in his defence, looking slightly terrified by my anger. 'You were screaming and… and wouldn't wake up… and did I mention the screaming?!' He looked ready to have a full on panic attack, and to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if I broke down myself.

I didn't answer, instead glaring at him before angrily stalking off to the bathroom to find a towel. I wasn't really annoyed that I was wet, really it was only a splash on my face and half my top. I most mostly just humiliated with myself. Humiliated that me walked in on me having a nightmare and screaming the house down in his living room. He surely would want to ask questions now, or at least think I was completely psychotic. I was also frustrated that I had allowed _him_ to crawl back inside my head and torment me after I had tried so hard to eliminate him from my thoughts. I guess that's what you get for brushing all your problems under the carpet instead of dealing with them.

After wiping myself down, I walked back into the hall passed an awkward looking Stiles and out of the front door. I wanted to go home.

I slipped in the passenger seat of Stiles' jeep without a word, and I was thankful when he remained silent too. I rested my head against the window, not wanting to look at him as he drove me home in case my troubled face invited any questions from him. I guess it didn't work because before long he opened his mouth.

'Don't feel embarrassed,' he started tentatively, clearly not sure how to approach this. His voice seemed different somehow though, as if it had suddenly matured, 'I used to get them too.'

'What?' I asked, a little icily, though the tone didn't faze him as much as it usually did.

'Night terrors? Insomnia. Panic attacks. Whatever you want to call them.' His eyes shifted from the road to meet mine for a second, and for a moment I saw deep pain in his eyes, pain that I could sympathise with.

'I don't get them often,' I stated, somehow feeling replying was a snarky comment was not the right thing for the moment. 'Only when I sleep.'

'What do you mean?' he asked, brow furrowing, his dark eye brows knitting together.

'Well, I technically don't have to sleep, my body can function normally without it, but sometimes I do.' I clarified. I guess I could share a bit more information. It's not like he could use that fact that I can survive without sleep against me. He already knew I could survive anything.

'Oh. Wow. That's… that's concerning' he mused, his familiar childlike tone resurfacing a little.

'What? How?' I asked, surprised by his words.

'How?' he said, echoing my words. 'You literally avoid sleeping so you don't have to deal you're your problems. That's concerning.'

'Wha… I don't have problems!' I said, suddenly feeling a little defensive.

'Oh, come on!' he all but yelled, but not in an angry way. 'You're clearly running from something; I didn't have to be a genius to figure that one out. An assassin with no mouth threw a freaking tomahawk in your back! You heal like insanely fast from any wound, and I'm guessing you've had a lot. Not to mention your name is on a deadpool and the reward for your murder is 25 _million_ dollars!' he bellowed, hardly stopping to take a breath. 'If you don't have problems, I can't see how the rest of us could complain about anything.'

I stayed quiet for a while, absorbing everything he had just said. There was truth in what he was saying, I did have problems, and most of them were to do with my past, but I wasn't going to start spilling my guts to this kid like he was some kind of supernatural psychiatrist. There was no way I was digging up old messes that were better off staying hidden beneath the surface.

'Sorry,' he said after a few minutes, 'I didn't mean to upset you.'

'You didn't,' I replied, although I kept my eyes firmly on the houses whipping past the window as we drove. I glanced over at him when he didn't respond, and I saw a sheen of guilt in his honey eyes. I decided it would be best just to change the subject, better that he focus on other things rather than all my deepest and darkest secrets. 'So tell me about yourself Stiles.' I asked, turning my body in my chair so I was facing him a little more.

'Huh?' He asked, perhaps not hearing my question.

'Tell me about yourself,' I repeated.

He looked flabbergasted for a second before composing himself.

'Err okay… um what would you like to know?'

'Hmm,' I mused, thinking of an easy subject that he could chat about with minimal input from me. 'How about your family?' I asked, 'Mum still around?'

It was meant to be a light, easy topic, but at the mention of his mother, I could see his tense up, knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

'No, uh, she died,' he said, and I could almost feel how hard he was trying to make sure his voice didn't crack.

'Oh, Stiles, I'm sorry…' I trailed off, not sure what to say next.

'Don't be,' he assured me quickly, 'you didn't know.' I nodded at him and decided that I would drop the subject quickly. 'What about you?' he asked, 'Where are your parents?'

'Don't know, don't care,' I said flatly. He looked a little taken aback by my answer so, with a sigh, I continued. 'I never knew my real parents,' I explained, 'I was passed around foster homes until I was 15. Then I left.'

'You mean you ran away,' Stiles said.

'Something like that,' I replied, not feeling like getting into the whole story right there and then.

'So what else is there?' he asked, his question stumping me. 'You know like you can't die, you don't sleep…' he continued, 'anything else we should know about?'

'I can also turn invisible,' I said.

'What?! Really?!' he screamed as he slammed on the breaks.

'No, you idiot,' I chuckled dryly. This kid sure was gullible.

'Do you feel pain?' I knew his question was serious, and he really wanted, no needed to know the answer.

'Yes Stiles, I'm not a robot,' I replied bluntly, trying to rebuild some of the walls the teen had managed to splinter in less than a car ride home.

'Yeah, but you heal so fast. You must have some kind of resilience to it. Derek said he hardly saw you flinch when that guy injected you with the cyanide.'

'I guess I must have some kind of resilience to it then. But I didn't always,' I said, the days when I first discovered what my body could do flashing through my mind.

'What do you mean?' he asked, taking his eyes off the road again.

'I used to feel everything,' I said, feeling as if my eyes were glazing over and I was in a trance like state where I just kept talking and talking, unable to control the words spilling from my mouth as I relived my messy passed. 'It's like when you're a kid, every paper cut hurts like hell, you feel everything. But then, when you get older, a small paper cut has no significance anymore, because you've had loads in the past. But it's not just that you don't feel the pain anymore, you still feel it, as intense as it was the first time, only now you've just gotten used to it. You've learnt to ignore it, and I guess that's how the tolerance to it builds up.' We fell silent again, but the intensity of the moment still lingered in the car. I sat, barely moving, staring straight out the window.

'It's _him_ Stiles, I can feel it.' The words coming out of my mouth were so quiet I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't hear a word I was saying. 'If he's not already here then he's close.'

'Who? What are you talking about?' Stiles asked, almost as quietly as my shaky voice. I was only now aware that the jeep had pulled up outside my apartment building, and I wondered how long we had been there.

'He's worse than any assassin that has that list, hell, I would sooner wish a tomahawk in anyone's back before I would wish for him to have his claws in them.'

'Alex, who is he?' Stiles pressed, now a sense of urgency in his hushed voice.

I looked up at him, meeting him dead in the eyes. 'He's your worst nightmare.'

We stared at each other for a long time, both taking I each other's expressions filled with fear and apprehension. Finally, I broke eye contact with him and after uttering a hasty goodbye swung the car door open and made my way to my apartment without looking back.

I wasn't sure what came over me on that journey home, or why I felt I could unload even just a small portion of baggage onto Stiles, a kid I barely knew. But I did know one thing: I wouldn't get a wink of sleep that night, and I doubted Stiles would either.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you liked it! Who do you think she is talking about?**

 **I know I've been focusing on Alex quite a lot because I want to show a bit of her character but over the next few chapter, hopefully there will be more of the season 4 storyline. This story is called Deadpool after all!**


	9. Chapter 8 - Unexpected

The strawberry blonde eyed me cautiously from across the class room.

'Is there a reason we had to do this here?' I asked, irritated. 'I'm a little old to be in high school.'

'Quit complaining,' Derek ordered, a similarly annoyed look on his face, though I thought it was more directed at me than anything. I glared at him from under my eyelashes. The sour wolf had insisted on being here to witness the first time I met the banshee. He was obviously curious like everyone else (including me) to see what effect I may have on her. So far no one had died, so I wasn't too worried.

Nearly everyone was here, including three new faces I had just met for the first time. There was Kira, the Kitsune, Malia, the were coyote and of course, Lydia. She hadn't said much in the short while we had been gathered in the tiny class room, but I could tell from the way she was looking at me that she was curious.

'I'm not sure exactly what you want me to do?' the banshee asked no one in particular. 'I'm pretty new to this, I don't know how it works.'

'It's okay,' Scott spoke up from behind me. 'We just need to know that you can be around each other without anything bad happening.'

'I don't see why it would,' Lydia said, 'I don't feel anything when I'm around Peter anymore.' Everyone seemed to accept this explanation, but I was entirely confused.

'Who's Peter?' I cut in, turning around to look at Scott. I had heard the name before, but I had yet to learn its significance. It was Stiles who answered.

'Derek's psychotic uncle who Lydia brought back from the dead,' he said matter of factly. I raised my eyebrows at him. 'I'll tell you later,' he said quickly and I nodded. I held eye contact with him for a second and he fiddled with his sleeves uncomfortably. We hadn't talked much, at all really, since he drove me home a few days ago, and to say things were awkward would be an understatement. However, the lack of questions I had been receiving from Scott about some evil maniac who was coming to kill us all told me he had kept our chat to himself, and I was appreciative of that. I turned back around to face Lydia again, now getting more and more annoyed at how long this was taking.

'You've experienced death much more that Peter,' Derek spoke up seriously, his tone lacking the bite it usually contained when addressing me.

'Exactly how many times had you died?' Lydia asked, head tilting to the side a little. I watched as every person in the room leant closer in, as if this was the question they had all been dying to ask.

I smirked. 'You're the banshee, you tell me.'

The tension in the room was irrefutable as the strawberry blonde stepped closer to me. I could visibly see her expression change as she approached, her eyebrows furrowing. I almost wanted to step away from her, terrified at what might happen if she came any closer, but I was frozen where I stood. She seemed to go into some kind of trance like state, her eyes darting around the room like it was filled with voices only she could hear.

Behind me I heard Stiles scramble to his feet and a brooding Derek tell him to shut up. He stumbled his way passed me so he could get a proper look at her, obvious concern on his face.

'Lydia?' he asked quietly. 'Lydia, what can you hear?'

'I… I can hear…' Lydia started as she began to breath heavily. Stiles looked ready to catch her if she collapsed or something but the rest of the room just stood quietly.

'Lydia, what is it?' he asked again. I watched the banshee's eyes flicker to the teen next to me, her eyes slightly glazed over before her eyes focused and she seemed to snap out of whatever daze she was in. And just like that, it was over.

'Damnit,' Lydia cursed. 'It was right there,' she explained, a frustrated look on her face. 'It was like it slipped through my fingers or something.'

'Do you feel anything now?' I asked, confused by her changeable abilities.

She reached out a hand and let it rest on my arm for a second, then retracted it back, face unchanged.

'Nothing,' she replied, seeming disappointed with herself.

'It's okay Lydia,' Kira spoke for the first time. She had a kind face and offered the banshee a sincere and encouraging smile, before walking over to Scott and saying something about how they were going to be late for econ.

I watched as the group filed out of the class room, all apart from Lydia, Malia and myself. They were going to see if Lydia could come up with the next cypher key, cracking the next part of the list. I watched as Malia pulled out an easel and paper in front of Lydia and watched, comically close, the banshee attempt to break the code.

'Please stop hovering,' Lydia asked the girl who was trying to lean over her to see the piece of paper.

'I'm not hovering.' Malia replied. 'I'm waiting. Draw something. Write something. We need to know who else is on that list.' At this I looked up. I too was curious to see who else was on the list, but it was clear that this girl had an ulterior motive.

'You mean; you need to know if you're on the list.' Exactly, I thought.

'If someone's coming to take my head off, then, yeah, I'd like to know,' Malia replied, and I laughed.

'Can't blame you for that,' I said, and the two girls looked at me as if only just realising I was still in the room. 'Could you really not hear anything?' I asked Lydia, referring to what had happened between us earlier.

'No,' she said, but I could tell she wasn't being fully truthful. 'I guess my abilities have just decided to turn off today,' she said as she placed the pencil on the easel and stepped away from the paper looking a little defeated.

'When did they start?' I asked. I had always been curious where a banshee's ability to sense death came from.

'After Peter bit me,' she said simply and I raised my eyebrows again.

'The guy you brought back from the dead?' I asked, and even Malia looked a little baffled at the banshee's words.

'Peter manipulated me,' she said, narrowing her eyes at me defensively. 'I didn't know what I was doing. What about you? How did you get your abilities?' I had inferred from the situation that Scott and Stiles had told them all everything, so it didn't surprise me that Lydia was asking questions.

'I've always been like this,' I replied grimly, though I tried not to show too much emotion.

'Always?' the other girl, Malia, asked.

'As long as I can remember,' I clarified with a tight smile. They both nodded and we fell silent. The room started to grow awkward, mainly because it was clear that all Malia wanted was for Lydia to tell her if she was on the list, and Lydia was never going to do that with me in the room. It was clear she didn't really trust me, obviously because of some 'feeling' she had got from me earlier that she had been unwilling to share.

'I should get going,' I said after a while, and with no protests from the two girls I slipped out of the classroom.

* * *

Later on that day I was sat on my couch watching some daytime TV. I was bored out of my mind. I told myself over and over again that it was good for me to have a day to myself, but in reality, I longed to see some more action. In a body that could heal itself from any wound, it was hard to find an activity that could get the adrenaline pumping through my veins like a normal person, and sitting in my small apartment watching a trashy soap was not going to cut it. Another thing was that I had needed to leave my car at the school earlier so I was confined to my small apartment. After leaving the two girls in the classroom I had discovered my battery was flat and since I didn't feel like ringing Stiles for a jump start I had decided I would get the bus home and get him to help me later. Things were still awkward between us and I didn't feel like being alone with him for any length of time. He would start asking questions for sure.

Once home, I had spent a large chunk of the day trying to get the crimson stain out of my carpet with no prevail. I knew already that it would have to be replaced but I really needed something to keep myself occupied.

The sinister sound of an unexpected knock at the door tore my gaze from the TV screen and I switched off the soap, before making my way over. Before me stood a tall man I didn't recognise. He looked to be in his mid to late 30s and bore a smile on his lips that was somewhere between cocky and creepy.

'You must be Alexia,' he said, holding out a hand for me to shake, 'It's nice to finally meet you.' I ignored his outstretched hand and glared at him hostilely. I hated surprise guests at the door, especially when they knew my name, and I didn't know theirs.

'It's Alex actually,' I snapped at him. I hated it when people used my full name.

'Of course,' he said, smile still in place. 'I'm Peter. I'm Derek's…'

'Derek's uncle, I know,' I interrupted him, 'how nice of you to stop by,' I said sarcastically. From what the others had said, this guy was trouble and I wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. Peter chuckled coldly. 'What do you want?'

'Now, now Alex, no need to be rude. Derek's told me a lot about you,' he said as he pushed past me and into me apartment, eyeing the spot on the floor that was stained with my blood.

'Oh really?' I asked, 'And what exactly has he said?'

'That you can heal, but I wanted to hear it from you, if you don't mind.' I narrowed my eyes at him. He must have some kind of agenda, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered coming.

'It's true,' I said, hoping I sent him the message that I was not intimidated my him in the slightest.

'Good,' he said simply, 'that makes this a lot simpler.'

I was going to ask him what he was talking about but before I knew what was happening, he had pulled out a gun that I doubted was his and had sent two bullets straight through my skull.

* * *

My head pounded as I felt it knock against the back of a chair I was sitting in. All I could hear was a loud ringing that made my skull ache. I guess that was to be expected when you get shot in the head. Twice. I slowly blinked my eyes open, pupils rapidly decreasing in size as electric light flooded into them. Two blurry figures stood in front of me and I groaned as the pounding in my head didn't go away.

'You shot her?' an irritated but familiar voice said. 'And brought he here?' the voice deadpanned.

'Yes Derek, I shot her,' the other figure said, 'is that not what you wanted?'

'I said I needed to talk to her!' the voice of Derek Hale shouted at the other man, 'she's never going to trust us now!'

'Oh come on, she was never going to trust us anyway,' the other man said.

The two figures started to come into focus and I could just about see the features of the second man. It was Peter. I could tell they had just noticed that I was awake.

'Morning princess,' Peter smiled condescendingly at me and it was all I could do not to punch him in the face.

'Thanks for shooting me in the head, jackass,' I snarled at him, and I heard Derek snort as I glared at his uncle.

'Well after hearing what Derek told me about you, I needed to see for myself. And I must say, your abilities are very…' he paused, searching for the right word, 'impressive.' It was strange but I could have sworn I heard a hint of jealousy in the older wolf's voice.

'What's it to you?' I seethed at him again. I couldn't take much more of his condescending remarks.

'I'm merely interested,' he said but I could tell it was all bullshit. 'I've never come across anyone quite like you before.'

'What do you want from me?' I asked. This guy was really starting to piss me off.

'I need answers.' The words came from the green eyed wolf who was standing in the shadows behind his uncle. It was then I first noticed where we were. It was some kind of loft, practically empty with a large window letting streaks of light penetrate the dark room.

Derek walked forwards, the beams of light illuminating his striking face. The features were hard, and short stubble graced his defined jawline. As much as I hated him, I couldn't deny that Derek Hale was attractive.

I looked into his brilliantly green eyes, the same ones I had looked into a few weeks ago, only back then his body was that of a 16-year-old boy. His eyes were still the same – still tortured and dark. I wondered what must have happened to make him the way he was, so cold and hostile. He reminded me of myself.

'I'm not telling you anything,' I spat at him. He sighed but didn't look surprised.

He turned back to his uncle and whispered something to him. After a moment, Peter begrudgingly walked over to a spiral staircase in the corner of the room and ascended them, clearly irritated.

'You think just because you told your psychotic uncle to go away that I'm going to spill my guts to you?'

'I thought I would give it a shot,' he said, eyeing me suspiciously like he had done ever since he first found out what I could do.

'What exactly is your problem with me, Hale?' I asked him as I stood from my chair. It was a bad idea. As soon as I was on my feet my head started to spin and I thought I was just going to collapse to the floor like an idiot. To my surprise, Derek's hand snapped out to steady me. His brow furrowed with something that looked like concern and I shook his hand off my arm, telling him I was fine. Even so, I walked over to a large table and used it to support me.

'I don't have a problem with you,' he said, and I raised my eyebrows at him sceptically. 'I have a problem with the people hunting you.' He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of me. 'I took this off the cop at the station, the one who injected you with cyanide.' I looked stared at the photographs in front of me and felt my heart speed up in my chest. They were of me. One of me at the grocery store, one of me in my car, one of me outside of my apartment. I frowned at the piece of paper that was with them. It was a list, but not the list I had come to know as the dead pool. It was a list of all the alias' I had ever used, including my real name, Alexia Marshall, that was at the very top. Beside each one was an address, describing where and when I had used each of these different names over the past four years. The site sent shivers down my spine.

'What is all this,' I asked, my voice with less bite than it usually did when speaking to the werewolf.

'I was hoping you could tell me,' he replied from behind me.

'I don't…'

'Don't lie!' he said, raising his voice. 'I can tell this has nothing to do with the dead pool. These people are after you, and only you, and I need to know why!'

'I have no idea what any of this is!' I yelled back at him. I could tell he didn't believe me, but I wasn't telling him anything. He was starting to get angry, and as he did, he eyes had started to glow a bright amber. I consciously took a step away from him. 'Nice eyes,' I said and he blinked quickly, his eyes returning to their usual colour. He looked like he was about to protest again, but the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted him.

After a short conversation, he hung up and pinched the top of his nose. It was obviously something important that he had to attend to but he clearly didn't want to end our conversation.

'I have to go to the school,' he said as if I actually cared. 'You're coming with me,' he said as if it was obvious. 'Go wash up, the bathrooms down the hall.' I glared at him when I realised I wasn't going to get away with not going. With a huff I stomped to the bathroom.

The sight that graced me in the mirror was not a pretty one. Where the bullet wounds would have been were large patches of dark, sticky blood. The back of my head was also covered in the crimson liquid where I the bullets went straight through my skull. I didn't have time to shower so I reluctantly stuck my head under the tap in the sink and tried my best to rinse the blood out of my hair. I dried it a little with a small hand towel before pulling it into a messy bun on top of my head. When I looked in the mirror again I still looked pretty horrific, but at least there was no trace of bullet wounds anymore.

I left the bathroom and met an impatient looking Derek in the hall before we made our way down to his car and drove to the high school.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you liked that chapter.**

 **Is there anything you would like to see more of/less of in this story? Hope to update again soon!**


	10. Chapter 9 - Frenemies

We arrived at the school pretty quickly, and I was thankful. The car ride had been completely silent and the tension was killing me. Whatever reason Derek had to get to the school so urgently for was obviously very important and I could tell he was nervous. I had almost asked him if he was okay at one point, but that would have given him the message that I didn't hate him, and I did.

I slid out of the passenger side as an SUV I didn't recognise pulled up in front of us. An unfamiliar man got out and approached us, eyeing me suspiciously. Why did everyone do that?

He was older, maybe in his 40s, and had stubble, like Derek, only his was slightly longer and had flecks of grey in it. I also noticed the gun that was clipped to his belt which he obviously didn't mind people seeing.

'Derek,' he greeted with a nod. 'Who's your friend?' he asked, eyes flicking to me, and his expression told me he knew we were definitely not friends. Derek made no move to answer so I stretched out my hand in the direction of the unfamiliar man.

'Alex,' I said, and he took my hand in a firm grip.

'Chris,' he told me, before releasing my hand and turning back to Derek.

'She's not coming with us,' the wolf next to me stated bluntly, and I turned to him, annoyed.

'Then why the hell did you make me come with you?' I asked, slightly raising my voice.

Derek sighed exasperatedly, 'Liam's playing his first lacrosse match, I'm sure Scott could use some help,' he said and I sent him an unimpressed glare. Stiles had also told me about Liam, Scott's new beta with anger issues, and the last thing I wanted to do right now was sit through a lacrosse match. But I guess, since I was meant to be playing for a team other than my own, I should probably go chip in with the beta babysitting. So, with one last glare at Derek, I turned on my heel and headed towards the lacrosse field.

* * *

The game was just about to start when I spotted Scott, Stiles and Kira huddled by the bench. I made my way over past the bleachers to where they were talking in hushed voices.

'Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?' I overheard Kira asking, causing me to frown.

'Because it usually does,' Stiles replied, optimistic as ever. A scoffed a little at his comment, alerting them to my presence. 'Alex,' the teen said in surprise, 'what are you doing here?'

'Thought you could use the help,' I said with a smile that was only partly forced.

'Well… that's very—,'

'Nice of you,' Kira interrupted Stiles, giving him a little shove in the ribs, causing him to fall backwards. He stood up quickly, readjusting his helmet frantically before falling completely calm, pretending nothing had happened. Smooth. Kira smiled warmly at me and I couldn't help but return it. 'So what's the plan.'

'Kira, you keep an eye on Garrett. I'll watch out for Liam,' Scott instructed.

'Hold on, whose Garrett?' I asked, getting increasingly lost.

'He's on the lacrosse team, and we think he's going to try to kill someone. Tonight.'

'What do I need to do,' I asked, looking for a way to help. I might as well make myself useful.

'Stay here, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.' I nodded at the alpha as we turned to look at Stiles.

'Yeah, I'm just gonna try to play lacrosse,' he said, and I rolled my eyes at him. Kira and Scott took off, taking their places on the field. Stiles hung back for a second, and I could tell he wanted to ask me something. He looked around awkwardly for a long moment, before catching my eye and opening his mouth to speak.

'Don't Stiles,' I interrupted him. 'Not now.' He seemed to understand and with one last nod, we wished each other good luck before taking to our battle stations.

There was a moment of dead silence as I sat with the other supporters on the bleachers. The players on the field were poised in positions, ready for the game to start. As the whistle blow, however, the silence was shattered with an eruption of cheers from the crowd who jumped to their feet, waving banners and flags for their team. It was strange for me being at a high school scrimmage. It seemed like a lifetime ago now but once upon a time I was a cheerleader. It was a time when my only problems were trying to balance cheer practice with homework, but then everything changed. In a way, I should have known that this would be inevitable. There was no way that I, a completely abnormal girl, would ever have a normal life.

Suddenly, the sound of the crowd gasping tugged me from my memories. I looked down to see a worried looking Scott and Stiles huddled around a pained looking Liam. He looked like he had been injured, but he wasn't the only one. Another player was writhing on the ground, looking to be in considerable more pain then Liam did. In less than a second I was running down the bleachers and onto the field, ignoring the protests of the players on the bench telling me to get off the pitch.

Once I got to Liam and the others I could see Scott's panicked expression.

'Are you cut? Did Garret cut you?' He asked frantically.

'No, no. I'm okay,' Liam reassured us, but I still found myself casting an eye over him to check he really was fine.

'Then he missed,' Scott said.

'What do you mean?'

'It's you, Liam. You're the one he's after.' Scott's words startled Liam, and he looked terrified. I, however, frowned in confusion. It didn't make any sense. If Garret was the killer, the he had already murdered at least two others. There was no way he would have missed, especially with so much at stake. Something wasn't right.

The group dispersed for a few minute and I was left with Scott on the field. 'This feels wrong, Scott,' I said to him, and the alpha nodded like he could feel the exact same thing.

'I know,' he said, a pained look in his eyes.

Liam rushed back over to us, panting a little, but he didn't look to be in so much pain, clearly having already healed. 'I talked to Coach,' he said. 'I'm out for the rest of the game. What are you gonna do?' he asked, directing his words to Scott.

'I don't know. Something's still not right,' he said, meeting my eyes as he spoke. 'We're missing something.'

I saw Stiles jog over to us but I wasn't listening to what he was saying. An image was floating around in my head. An image of a teenager writhing on the lacrosse field I had seen only moments ago. I vaguely heard Stiles say that Lydia had cracked another third of the list but I didn't stay to hear who was on it. I sped off towards the boys' locker room I had seen a few people carry the boy's shaking body into earlier.

When I got there I heard heavy breathing. I slowly pushed the door open to see a boy, dressed in lacrosse uniform, trying to drag his limp body across the floor. I noticed another sound of heels clicking against the floor as the back of a girl came into view.

'What did you do to me?' I heard the boy ask, his voice sounding desperate.

'You were cut with a poisoned blade. It was laced with wolfsbane,' the girl said cockily. 'It won't kill you. But this will.' I watched as she held up what looked like some kind of wire and the words from the conversation I had heard between Stiles and the Sheriff a few days ago echoes through my head.

'Why? Why are you doing this?' the boy's strangled voice asked as I saw the girl pull the wire tighter around his neck.

'Because you're worth a lot of money, Brett.'

At that walked straight into the locker room, ready to fight this bitch. If I wanted to be useful, I might as well kick some assassin ass.

'True,' I said casually from behind, causing her to whip her head round in surprise, 'but I'm worth more,' I said, before punching her right in the face. She jolted back, not expecting my right hook to be as powerful as it was. She composed herself quickly, although she had let Brett's body fall to the floor, head still intact. Her attention was now fully on me.

She swung a few fists at me, but I dodged them without too much trouble. This distracted me though and I didn't see the kick she sent straight to my stomach coming. I slammed into the lockers hard, but recovered easily due to my ability, pushing off the metal and launching myself at her again. This time I went for her hair and grabbed at it with my fingers, pulling hard and causing her to shout in pain. She fell to the ground, pulling me down with her. I was forgetting though that, although I had my healing ability, she was a much more experience fighter, and because of that, she was tough and deadly.

She swiftly pulled a knife from her belt, using it as a weapon to slash out at me with. I tried again with my fists, but she caught my wrist, using my momentum to pull me into her, before plunging the blade repeatedly into my gut. The pain was worse than usual, and I thought it must be to do with some kind of poison she had put on the blade. She smiled evilly at me, obviously thinking she had beaten me. It then occurred to me that she probably didn't know who I was, or if she did, she didn't know _what_ I was. Even so, the knife wounds hurt like hell and she was still able to pull me down, my forehead cracking on the solid ground.

I felt her climb on top of me, no doubt ready to send another load of painful knife wounds into my back. She grabbed my hair, pulling it back causing me to groan as my neck creaked. She then used her strength to smack me head down to the ground repeatedly, causing me to grunt as my skull cracked more and more with each blow. I could feel the warm wetness of blood dripping onto the floor from my face and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to scream. With the final blow I felt my check bone give way and shatter under the force of her hand and the floor. I tried to open my eyes but my vision was spattered with black spots and I lay on the floor as helpless as Brett.

I felt the pressure on my back lift as she got off me but whatever followed from then I don't know for sure. Head wounds always took longer to heal than anything else, especially after shattering a few facial bones. I lay there motionless, the left side of my face moulded to the floor.

There was a second set of footsteps now, not just the girl. Some commotion arose and I could vaguely hear the girl speak over the ringing in my ears.

'He said we shouldn't try. But now I've got you. I got an Alpha.'

Her words made panic arise in me, but I couldn't do anything about it. It was like all the life and energy had drained out of me and could barely wiggle my toes. The sound of heavy breathing filled my ears before there was a crash and the sound of an unconscious body falling to the floor. I prayed it wasn't Scott's.

I was relieved, however, when a hand grabbed my shoulder worriedly and turned me over, the concerned face of Scott filling my blurry vision.

'Oh my—,' he started, obviously horrified by my deformed face. 'Alex?' he asked as he gently slapped my good cheek. 'Alex, can you hear me?'

I tried to nod but it hurt too much, so instead I uttered the word I hoped would tell him I was going to be fine and that there was something more important than me to sort out. 'Brett,' I said in a weak and fragile voice. I could see that he understood what I meant and he reluctantly left me on the floor as he went to check on the unconscious werewolf.

At that moment, an out of breath Stiles burst through the door, taking in the scene of the locker room. When he noticed me his eyes widened with something like concern and revulsion, but mostly revulsion as he made his way over to me, trying not to look at my distorted facial features.

'Oh God,' he said as his face contorted and he looked like he might throw up. 'You look horrific.' I tried to glare at him but found that it just hurt so instead I gestured for him to help me stand up and he did.

He pulled me off my feet and once I was upright, I felt the full effect of my injuries. My stomach still hurt, not to mention a migraine from hell coming on. My head was spinning so much that my knees buckled and I would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Stiles holding me up.

'Wow,' he said as he watched me feebly try to stay upright. 'Okay, back on the floor for you,' he said.

'I'm fine,' I protested, but it was clear Stiles was having none of it. He helped me back onto the ground so that I was sitting propped up against the lockers and he walked over to Scott.

'I think you better call your dad,' Scott said, looking from me to Brett. 'But first, we need to get you out of here,' he said looking at me. I understood what he meant and was grateful for his understanding. In situations like these, it would not be wise for a bunch of cops to show up to witness my rapid and miraculous recovery before some idiot in uniform could try to shove me into the back on an ambulance. 'How did you get here?' Scott asked.

'Umm,' I started, trying to get my brain to function at a normal speed, 'I came with Derek, but I don't know if he's still here.'

'Right, I'll give him a call' Scott said, immediately pulling out his phone.

I could feel myself healing now, the shattered bone in my cheek mending itself and reconstructing my face. It ached enormously though and I longed to be back in my apartment, curled up on the couch.

'Wow,' Stiles said, making his way back over to me, 'that's—that was really fast,' he said, gesturing to my face, a look of wonder and also that he might vomit at any moment on his face. It occurred to me then that apart from the first day we met, none of them had seen my ability in action. A little cut healing was one thing but full facial reconstruction in under a minute was another. He stared at me as he rubbed his chin for a long while before I glared at him to snap out of it. He did immediately, much to my satisfaction.

Not before long, the figure of Derek Hale appeared at the locker room door, a concerned and puzzled look on his face when he saw the two unconscious bodies, and me, sprawled across the floor.

'Stiles is gonna call his dad,' Scott explained to Derek as he stepped into the small room, 'but I need you to get Alex out of here.' Derek nodded almost immediately and that surprised me. I could see he trusted Scott, perhaps more than he trusted anyone, but that didn't explain why he would agree to help me. The sour wolf walked over to me, eyeing my bloodied face with concern before effortlessly picking me off the ground and walking me out the door without a word. It was then that I realised for the first time that, although we didn't all always get along with each other very well, we were all on the same team, and that meant something.

We walked in silence for a while, me just focussing on not passing out. Standing up made me dizzier and I was leaning on Derek a ridiculous amount to keep myself from falling to the ground, though he didn't complain. Every now and again my grip on his arm that was supporting me would slip and his hand around my waist would tighten, making sure I wouldn't sink to the sidewalk.

'You look terrible by the way,' he said, and although I couldn't see his face, I could tell he must have been smiling a little.

'Shut it, Hale,' I retorted, thought the words held none of their usual iciness. I was just too tired.

'So where's your car parked,' he asked, and I directed him further up the sidewalk.

Once my car was in view I realised something that made this day even shitter than it already was. 'Dammit,' I cursed under my breath, 'I need a jump start,' I said exhaustedly.

I heard Derek give an irritated sigh before speeding up our strides towards my car. Once there he slowly let go of my waist, giving me time to adjust my balance so I wouldn't topple over. I ended up leaning on the bonnet of my car awkwardly, barely being able to support my own wait.

'My cars parked around that corner,' he said pointing in the distance, and I nodded, recognising that we were near where we had parked earlier. 'Don't go anywhere,' he said with a slight smirk and I sent him a look – there was no way I could go anywhere.

Once he was out of sight I let myself collapse on the side walk and crawl to the curb so I could sit on it. It was much too low to be a comfortable seat but it made my head stop spinning, so I was happy. I let my head fall in front of me and rested it in my hands, hoping it might diminish my ever growing head ache. It didn't and I found myself digging my nails into my scalp in frustration. I wasn't used to feeling like this. It was a rare occurrence for me to obtain such a serious injury that it took more than seconds to heal, but I guessed that being shot in the head twice and then been slammed repeatedly against a concrete floor had been just a little too much damage for one day.

The sound of an engine pulling up near me made me raise my head and I saw Derek step out of his car and get straight to work on fixing my car. I was grateful to him for helping me, the last thing I wanted to be doing right now was jump starting my car. I expected him to make some comment on how I was being lazy, but he stayed silent as he worked.

'You alright down there?' he asked after a few minutes from under the hood of my car.

'I'll be fine in a few minutes,' I reassured him, though it was mostly just to reassure myself.

The sound of my car roaring to life filled me with relief and I pushed myself off the curb, shakily standing up. I thanked Derek before heading over to the driver's side of my car. But, to my dismay, I heard Derek chuckle dryly behind me.

'What are you doing?' he asked me, and I turned around, eyes narrowed at him.

'Going home. What does it look like?' I asked sarcastically.

'There's no way you're driving yourself home,' he said, shaking his head at me.

'And why the hell is that?' I asked, starting to get annoyed by his condescending tone.

He laughed drily again, as if it was obvious, 'you can barely stand up! You're gonna kill yourself.' I shot him a look and he realised his mistake, 'well you'll end up hurting someone else then, or at the very least you'll write off your car.'

I huffed at him, irritated by his logical reasoning. He was right, there was no way I could drive in my current condition. I reached into my vehicle and pulled the keys out of the ignition, sulkily handing them over to the wolf who took them with a smug grin. I heaved my body around to the passenger side and slid into the car.

Once the car had pulled out of its parking space I let my pounding head rest against the window. Something was bothering me, other than my injuries, and I knew I needed to ask now – I might not get another opportunity.

'That man, Chris,' I started, my eyes flickering over to Derek who staring out of the windscreen, 'who is he?'

'Chris Argent,' he told me without taking his eye off the road, 'his daughter was Allison.'

 _Allison._ The girl whose name had broken the first past of the dead pool. Stiles had informed me that she and Scott used to date but she had tragically died at the end of last year. I felt a pang of sadness in my chest for the alpha and the others who had lost a good friend.

'So, what did he want?' I asked, although I didn't really expect him to answer truthfully. 'Must have been important.'

'He was just-,' he started, finding the right words, 'he was helping me with something.'

'It was about your eyes, wasn't it?' I asked and I saw his tense, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. 'Stiles told me they were blue,' I tried again, 'I know what that means.' There was a long silence and I thought I had gone too far.

'A woman, Kate Argent, took something from me,' he started suddenly as he drove. 'At first I thought it was just something from my past, but my eyes are not the only thing that's different.' He paused for a while, as if deliberating whether he should continue. 'My sense of smell, my strength…' he said, looking frustrated and terrified all at the same time, 'I'm losing my power.'

I was astounded that he had told me all that he had. I was unaware that he any trust in me whatsoever, but I guess he did tell me only this morning that he didn't have a problem with me. That was another thing, through all the commotion of this evening, he seemed to have forgotten about our unfinished conversation and I wanted to keep it that way.

'Then we find Kate,' I said with what I hoped was encouragement. He pealed his eyes away from the road and looked straight at me, a look of gratitude and determination lighting up his green orbs.

Not before long we had pulled up outside my apartment building. Saying I was exhausted would be an understatement. I could barely lift my arm to undo my seat belt. I ended up using all my effort to push the car door open and heave myself out of the passenger seat. As I did, however, all the blood rose to my head rapidly and I swayed with dizziness, my legs threatening to collapse at any moment. Almost instantly, Derek was round my side of the car and scooped my straight off the ground so he was holding me bridal style, though I felt like a pathetic baby. I tried to protest but I was just too tired. He carried me swiftly up the stairs to my apartment and opened the door with my keys.

As soon as we were through the door, I directed Derek to my room and he sat me on my bed. I immediately collapsed, feeling completely exhausted. I kicked off my boots and was about to pull my duvet when Derek stopped me. I watched as he stared at my blood soaked shirt with concern written across his face, even if he wouldn't admit it. He slowly lifted the fabric a little way up so he could inspect my stomach. Where there should have been deep slashes from where Violet had stabbed me, there was only smooth skin, although it was covered in dried blood. I figured I would shower in the morning… and change my sheets.

Derek looked satisfied that I wouldn't die in my sleep and headed for my bedroom door. However, before he closed it behind him I called him back.

'Hey,' I said in a small voice, feeling more vulnerable than I usually did. 'Thanks,' I said sincerely.

He nodded at me and turned to leave but sleep had already enveloped me before I heard the door click shut.

* * *

 **AN: Hello! Hope you enjoyed that one. I thought about making this one into two separate chapters but it didn't really work so its just one long one.**

 **Let me know what you think :)**


	11. Chapter 10 - Hidden Talents

The next morning, I woke feeling more alert and refreshed that I had expected. I clambered out of my bed, immediately stripping off my blood stained top and slinging it into the trash can under my desk. Yet another ruined top – I really needed to go shopping.

I grabbed a towel from the radiator and headed for the bathroom. Once I was in I pulled out the hair tie that held the matted bird's nest that was my hair on top of my hair. It fell down around my face like a lion's mane and I huffed at myself in the mirror. I jumped in the shower straight away, not even bothering to wait until the water had warmed up. The cold water was cleansing and therapeutic for my skin but I was definitely glad when it warmed to the almost scorching temperature I liked. I wasn't sure what it was about hot showers that I loved so much, maybe because it helped relax my muscles, and my mind for that matter. Actually it was probably because it made it a lot easier when trying to wash the dried blood out of my hair.

For a while I just stood under the heavy stream of water, letting it run through my hair. I held my head down as I watched the water run red with my blood from the day before, occasionally wiping at my stomach with my dripping hands.

It took me a solid six washes through with shampoo before I was satisfied that my hair was clean and I scrubbed my fingernails clean with a brush. Finally, I combed out all the knots in my hair until it ran sleek down my back like threads of silk.

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower and quickly rubbed my hair with a towel before wrapping my body in it like a dress. I opened the bathroom door, the sudden cold air from the rest of my apartment sending goose bumps up my arm. I headed out into the kitchen where my washing machine was and pulled out a fresh pair of black jeans and a top. Hopefully I wouldn't ruin another outfit today, though with the way things were going, I wouldn't count on it. I slung the clothes over my arm and grabbed a coffee cup to make myself a drink, but just as I did, the sound of unexpected footsteps caught my attention.

I whirled around quickly, flinging the cup at the intruder.

An un-expecting Derek Hale grunted and rubbed his upper arm where my coffee cup had struck him. 'What the hell?' he asked, but the words were distorted by a loud yawn. He was wearing the jeans and t-shirt he had on yesterday, and his signature leather jacket was draped over the back of my couch. I glared at him angrily.

'What are you doing here? Did you stay the whole night?' I said, crossing my arms. He didn't have to reply; I already knew the answer.

I watched as he eyes left mine and raked over my body and I horrifyingly realised I was still in my towel. Sensing my obvious discomfort, he smirked at me and I tried desperately to stop the blush that I could feel creeping onto my face. I wished I still had my coffee cup in my hand so I could throw it at him again.

'You're disgusting,' I spat at him as I marched back into my room and slammed the door. All I heard was a small chuckle and the sound of him sitting back down on my couch were he had obviously spent the night.

I quickly got dressed and blow-dried my hair, before straightening out the waves and applying makeup. I tended not to use much foundation, since I never got spots or blemishes, but I always applied a generous amount of eyeliner to my waterline and eyelid. I finished up with a cherry lip stick before leaving the room.

Derek was still sat in his position on the couch, but was now flicking aimlessly through the TV channels, clearly not paying attention to any of it. As soon as my bedroom door had clicked shut he switched it off and stood up from his position on the couch, turning to face me.

'Feeling better this morning?' he asked though I wasn't sure he actually cared for the answer.

'Much,' I replied stoically with a tight smile that vanished before it had fully formed on my lips. He nodded wordlessly. I walked over to the kitchen, going about my normal morning routine of making myself a coffee (triple espresso) as if the werewolf standing in my living room didn't exist. I wondered when he might leave, I hated hoverers, they put me on edge. I felt his presence behind me and I rolled my eyes to myself.

'You really need to stop doing that,' I said coldly, the ice in my voice directed straight at him.

'Doing what?' he asked, frowning at me. He did that a lot.

'Trying to irritate me to death. You know it's not going to work, might as well save your energy, we both know you don't have much of that these days,' I said. My voice was harsh as I spoke and I saw him tense when I mentioned what he had told me in the car yesterday. He supressed his anger that was clearly raging inside of him at my possibly mean comment.

'I'm not trying to irritate you, Alex,' he said, visibly started to get irritated himself.

'Oh, well I guess you just have a natural talent for it then,' I shot back at him and I could almost see the blood boiling underneath his skin.

'Look, I told you yesterday that I didn't have a problem with you,' I said, starting to raise his voice and stepping closer to me.

'Yeah I remember.' I glared at him. 'It was right after your crazy uncle shot me in the head!' I was full on yelling at him now and had stepped even closer. I would be surprised if I didn't slam my fist right into his perfectly sculpted cheek bone.

'That only happened because I needed to ask you some questions!' he said, getting even closer to me, 'which, by the way, you still haven't answered!' he was pretty much just shouting in my face now. His eyes had started to glow a vibrant amber; they were captivating to look at but not nearly as dazzling as I imagined his true eyes would have been.

'I don't have to answer anything,' I said through gritted teeth as I seethed.

'You do if me, and everyone else, are in danger because of it.' The words were quieter but still held the same intensity and anger, and a trace of fear, that they had before. A moment passed as we glared at each other, his face only inches from mine. His eyes had stopped glowing now and he looked down at me with narrowed green irises. We were both breathing heavily with anger and frustration with the other. It was almost comical how easily I could get under his skin, and it was clear that I was right now. I tended to get under most people's skin, and they tended to get under mine too. But his words made me stop and think for a moment. Did I owe him an explanation as to who was hunting me? I knew from experience that _he_ would go through whoever stood in his way to get to me. I guess that's why I had been trying to keep people at a distance recently. If no one cared enough to want to protect me, no one would get hurt.

But no one did care about me right now, did they. Did they? Derek did help me a lot yesterday, despite the incident with his uncle, and the concern that Scott and Stiles had shown towards me would be hard for anyone to fake. Could it be that this list, this dead pool, had bound us all together with an invisible tie that made us look out for each other? I supposed so. And if they were willing to accept me into their clique or whatever it was, then the least I could do was to make an effort.

I sighed and looked away from him, taking a step back until he was out of my personal space.

'I wasn't lying before,' I said in a small voice and I heard Derek scoff with contempt. 'I don't know who that deputy was, I've never see him before,' I tried again and I saw Derek look up at me. I wondered if he could hear the sound of my heart thumping steadily in my chest. I knew that's what werewolves could do to tell if someone was lying, but I wasn't sure if he had lost his hearing as well as his sense of smell. He relaxed a little from his stance he had taken just before our argument and I took that as a suggestion to carry on talking. 'But the list that he had,' I continued, 'they're names that I've used. Alias'.' I paused for a moment, wondering how to go on. I didn't know who the deputy was working for, but he clearly had been working for someone else. As I thought about it more, I concluded in my head that it was unlikely to be _him. He_ worked alone. Always. And _he_ knew better than anyone that cyanide, apart from subduing me for little more than an hour, did nothing to harm me. It had to have been someone else that the deputy was working for. Perhaps he was just sent to scare me; that was most likely. Even so, it can't have been _him_ – sending someone else to do _his_ dirty work was definitely not _his_ style. I had learnt that the hard way.

'The deputy must have been working for someone,' I told Derek, 'but I don't know who yet.'

'Whoever it is has been watching you,' he said, referring to the pictures he had shown me just yesterday, 'and they know where you live.' There was something like concern, or fear that something might happen to me in his voice.

'I can take care of myself,' I retorted, but only half-heartedly. Now that I thought about it, it did send shivers down my spine to know that whoever was after me knew exactly where I lived, where I went shopping and what car I drove. They could turn up at any moment and, although I hated to admit it, it did make me feel safer knowing that Derek had slept on my couch last night and nothing had happened.

At that moment, a piercing ring tone ripped through the air. It was his. He let it ring for few seconds, before he reached into his jean pocket and brought the phone to his ear.

'What?' he asked down the phone. As the caller spoke his eyes hardened and his gaze shifted to me. 'I'll be right there,' he said after a beat and hung up the phone.

'Stiles needs help at the animal clinic,' he said, and I knew what needed to be done.

Despite our heated argument earlier, the world had still carried on and the others still needed us – there were still assassins out there to kill all of us and as much as I hated to admit it, Scott was right when he said we needed to work together.

So when I grabbed my leather jacket from my bedroom and said 'I'll drive,' to Derek I wasn't surprised when he didn't protest.

* * *

'What the hell is happening to this kid?' Stiles asked in a panicked voice as he, Derek and myself held the convulsing teen on the metal table. He was the werewolf who had been attacked by Violet yesterday and was now in a dire state at the animal clinic. Thick yellow liquid foamed and bubbled at his mouth as if he were a rabid dog. His eyes were the same sickly colour and were wild with terror and pain. As he thrashed on the table I could see Stiles' face contorting as his hair clung to his clammy forehead. I couldn't tell if he was about to cry or about to be sick – I hoped neither.

'He's been poisoned by a rare wolfsbane,' Deaton explained, 'I need to make an incision and you need to hold him as still as possible.'

Stiles and I had our hands firmly on the teen's shoulders, trying to hold him down, but still he writhed beneath our comparably pitiful strength.

'Hey, Derek, how about a little werewolf strength?' Stiles said to the sour wolf who was struggling to hold the boy's shoulders. I looked over at him and caught his eye for a second, knowing full well why he couldn't help as much as Stiles would have liked.

'Yeah, I'm not the only one here with werewolf strength,' Derek spat back at Stiles, trying to hide his new weakness.

The veterinarian held a small but sharp knife above the boy's bear chest, struggling to get a clean shot at his skin. He was shaking and squirming too much that I bet it must be nearly impossible to make an accurate incision into his thorax.

'If you can't hold him still, the incision might kill him,' the Dr said, echoing my thoughts.

'He's slipping,' I said, getting slightly panicked as the boy started to break free from my hold on his shoulders. I didn't want him to die. If he did, then last night would have all been for nothing, and the assassins would have won again. I couldn't let that happen.

'I don't think I can hold him,' Stiles yelled. He let out another shriek as Brett jumper from the table, knocking both Stiles and I to the ground. I landed awkwardly on my wrist and felt something pop. I quickly cracked the bones back into place before anyone had noticed and rose to my feet. Next to me, Derek, who had recovered from being pushed against the wall, was staring with a furrowed brow at his arm. Three deep scratches sat along his forearm. I stared at them as they failed to heal – like they should on the arm of a werewolf. I looked quickly away before Derek could see that had noticed his injury.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a fist met Brett's face with so much force that he fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

'I guess I still have a little werewolf strength myself,' said Peter as he smiled smugly to himself.

'Yeah, maybe more than a little,' Derek said to himself but it was loud enough for me to hear. I sent Peter an irritated glare which he returned before focussing my attention back onto the teenager who was lying on the floor.

'Hey, Doc, I don't think he's breathing,' Stiles said as he knelt to the ground along with the veterinarian.

'Is he okay?' I asked, slightly panicked as I pushed passed Derek to reach the boy on the floor. Now that he was motionless, Deaton brought the blade to his chest and carefully made a deep incision along the boy's sternum. Brett gasped and choked as a yellow smoke puffed out of the hole in his chest. I looked away, not liking the horrible sight (although I had been in my fair share of these kinds of situations, I had never witnessed a wolfsbane detox quite this vivid). As I turned my head I spotted Derek and Peter sharing a look. The sour wolf tore his eyes away from his uncle and stared down at the three wounds in his arm. They began to heal, the flesh weaving together and the skin growing rapidly to leave no trace of anything. Derek sighed with relief and I let him see me watching as he looked up. He held my gaze, staring expressionless at me. I replied with a worried frown before turning back to face the others.

'Guys, can you hear that? I think he's saying something,' Stiles said and I watched Brett's lips move to mumble a string of words that were not unfamiliar to me: _The sun... The moon... The truth..._

'Three things cannot long be hidden,' I said, prompting all eyes to turn to me. I noticed Stiles raise his eyebrows at me but I ignored him and looked to Deaton. He nodded slightly, clearly having heard the mantra before too.

'The sun, the moon, and the truth,' the Doctor echoed back to me. 'It's Buddhist,' he said, looking back at Derek and Peter.

'Satomi,' Peter said, answering the unasked question in the room.

Stiles and I moved over to Brett's unconscious form and helped Deaton move him back onto the table. Once we were done, Peter moved to leave, Derek following shortly behind him. I saw him pick up a green lacrosse jumper off of a counter before he muttered something about going to find Satomi's pack.

Once he was gone, Deaton went into a back to get some kind of bandage for Brett's chest and Stiles and I were left alone.

'So…' he started as he looked over to me, though failing to make eye contact with me. Things were still awkward between us since the other night. I knew I needed to clear things up, but now was just not the right time.

He bounced uncomfortably on his toes, hands fiddling with the bottom of his t-shirt as if he was trying to pick a conversation topic out of thin air. He after a painful silence he flinched suddenly and looked over at me, scratching the back of his neck.

'Hey Alex, how did you know we were here?' he asked and I guessed he was referring to the fact that he had called Derek, not me, to come and lend a hand with Brett.

'Derek told me,' I said bluntly, finishing with a smile that turned into more of a grimace.

'Derek?' he said, and I could see light bulbs going off in his head. 'You arrived together.' It was less of a question and more of a statement he was trying to clarify. I nodded at him, not sure where he was going with this.

'And Derek drove you home last night after the game…?' he asked and I nodded again, getting a little irritated by his questions, 'And you arrived together… this morning…'

'Yes Stiles!' I snapped at him and he jumped back a fair few feet.

'Derek stayed over at yours last night?' he asked in a sceptical tone, although I knew he already knew the answer. I didn't answer, simply glaring at him. I now knew exactly where this was going and I didn't like it one bit. 'Oh' he said, his eyes widening as the cogs creaked in his brain. 'Ohh' he said again, and his eyes widened even further. 'Are you and Derek…?' he asked tentatively as his hands flapped erratically in front of his body.

'Oh for fucks sake Stiles, no!' I yelled at him, 'he slept on the couch,' I said, as if the thought of anything else having happened disgusted me beyond belief.

'Okay, okay,' he said, as his blotches of red started to appear on his cheeks.

'Goodbye Stiles,' I said, prompting him to leave. He quickly stumbled out of the door and I chuckled lightly to myself.

I walked over to the table where Brett was lying. He looked terrible. I would have said he was dead had it not been for the flickering of his eyelids. I gently brushed the hair away from his eyes and wiped a damp towel over his mouth. He instantly looked better once all the horrible yellow was gone. I heard footsteps coming from the back room and looked up as Deaton walked through the door.

'Alexia,' he greeted, a little surprised, 'I thought you'd left with Stiles.' He walked forwards and began to bandage the boy's wounds.

'Will it take long to heal?' I asked, concern for the boy as well as my own curiosity prompting the question.

'It may take a little longer than usual, because of the wolfsbane, but I'm sure when he wakes up, he will be fine,' he explained and I nodded, stepping away from the table so he could work without me getting in the way. I soundlessly watched as he deftly dressed the wound. As the minutes ticked by I began to fidget. I wanted to get home, but there were so many questions I had for this man, not just about my own abilities but about how he knew so much about the supernatural. Who was he? I began to pick at my nails, feeling like Malia, hovering over Lydia as she waited for her to crack the next part of the list – that reminded me, I hadn't yet asked who was on the next part of the dead pool yet. I decided I would ask Stiles about it later; he seemed to always know what was going on and out of everyone, accept maybe Scott, he was the person I could rely on for information. I began to pick at my nails more, and then raised my hand to bite them between my front teeth. It was a habit I used to do when I was younger, and had only recently started to do it again.

'There's something you want to ask me,' the man said, his back still turned to me as he worked.

I was a little taken aback by his statement and I let my hand drop by my side. 'How do you know so much about all this?' I asked, genuinely curious, 'are you a hunter?' The only people I had met before who had known as much as this man had either been supernatural themselves, or hunters.

'No,' he said, looking back to me with stern eyes. He looked back and continued his work. 'I told you, I'm a veterinarian.'

'Oh right, of course,' I said, growing annoyed by his insistence that he was nothing more than an animal doctor. 'So exactly how many species does your clinic cater for?'

He chuckled at my reply as he moved over to a sink to wash his hands. 'You talk like you assume I know everything there is to know about the supernatural world. I know merely a fraction about what is out there – you've probably seen more than I have.'

I scoffed at this. 'all I know is stories,' I said, 'I've barely seen anything.'

'Unfortunately, I highly doubt that's true.' He turned back to face me, a knowing look in his eye that confused me. Yeah, I wasn't telling the truth, but how could he possibly know that. This guy was getting more and more confusing by the second.

'What do you know about me?' I pressed, needing answers.

He mused for a minute before he seemed to find the right words to express what he was thinking. 'You're the first I've met with these abilities,' he started, 'and you were right when you said you are different from the others.'

'What do you mean?'

'The first day you were here, you walked straight passed the mountain ash barrier. No supernatural being should be able to do that. Scott is the only werewolf I've heard of who has ever managed to do it, and even then, it took a great amount of strength and power, but you, you were able to do it just like a human would.'

'Is it because he's a true alpha?' I asked the veterinarian.

'Yes. Scott has more power than even he knows about, that's why he's at the top of the list.'

'But so am I. And I don't understand why!' I yelled before I looked at the man apologetically. He seemed to understand my frustration and gave me a small, but reassuring smile.

'I'd like to try something, if I may?' he asked softly as he went to a draw and pulled out a vile of liquid. He then took a small wooden rod and dipped it into the mixture before holding it out to me. I took it from him, being careful not to let the sticky substance touch my skin.

'What is it?' I asked apprehensively.

'It's Kanima venom, powerful enough to paralyse anything with just one drop.'

'Right,' I said, feeling like I had got myself into a position I really didn't want to be in, but if he could help, I had to try. I slowly brought the rod to my lips and placed the end of it on my tongue, allowing the liquid to slide into my mouth. I swallowed.

We waited in silence, Deaton watching me like a hawk to see if anything happened. It didn't.

'I don't feel anything,' I said with a frown.

'Interesting,' Deaton mused again, 'yet another supernatural substance you are immune to.'

'You say that like it's a good thing,' I said under my breath with a sigh.

'Your ability gives you great power,' he said, a sincere look in his eyes. 'You don't not see it yet, but you will.'

* * *

 **AN: So that was chapter 10! Hope you liked it :)**

 **Are you guys enjoying the story and what has your favourite moment been so for?**


	12. Chapter 11 - Story Time

I had my answers from Deaton, even if they were annoyingly vague. Before I left he told me he would do some digging to see if he could find anything and I was grateful. Apparently my reaction, or lack of a reaction, to the kanima venom had given him more clues on how to find answers. The next person I needed to speak to was Stiles. I knew I couldn't put off our conversation forever and the awkwardness of our every interaction was getting ridiculous. If I was going to be a team player, I needed to offer up more information than I was currently giving.

I was sitting in his desk chair in his bedroom when he walked through the door. He was startled to say the least and screamed like a little girl before tripping over his own feet and falling onto the carpet. I remained seated, watching him nonchalantly from his chair. He quickly scrambled to his feet before frowning at me in his own way he did when he was out of breath and confused. If I was a werewolf I was sure I would have been able to hear his heart hammering in his chest rapidly.

'Alex… wha… how did you get in here?' His sentence was fractured as he breathed heavily, still getting over the scare. I rolled my eyes at him and gestured to the open window across the room.

'Oh right… remind me to lock that later,' he said as he dropped down on his bed heavily. The springs squeaked and pinged. 'Err… is everything okay?' he asked. It was unlike me to be the one dropping round unexpectedly at _his_ house, so he had a right to be a little puzzled.

'We need to talk,' I said seriously, looking over to him. He had a look of understanding on his face. I stood from my spot by his desk and began pacing up and down the short length of his room. It somehow helped me gather my thoughts when I paced and I wished in that moment that I had planned exactly what I wanted to say before showing up in his room.

'I guess I just feel like I need to explain a few things to you. It wasn't fair of me the other night to say what I said,' I started.

'Yeah, what was that about?' he asked, his tone was light by I could sense the undertones of seriousness.

'You were right before when you said I was running from something,' I told him, but I could tell by his expression that this was not new information. He was a smart kid, and I shouldn't patronise him. 'Well someone actually.'

' _Him_ ,' he said ominously, echoing my words from the other night.

'Not exactly,' I explained. 'After I ran when I was fifteen, I was on my own for a long time. One day, I was walking back to this apartment I was staying in, and this car pulled out of nowhere – hit me side on at like 30mph. It was pretty bad, broken femur, punctured lung… but this guy who hit me got out of the car and put me in the back seat. I figured he was gonna drive me to the hospital or something. I could feel myself starting to heal, and I panicked, so I told him he couldn't take me. I think he must've figured out what was happening. In the end, he took me back to this place where I got better. But the weird thing was, he didn't seem weirded out or anything – it was like he was used to this kind of thing. I asked how he could be okay with all this, most would just freak out. Turns out he was a hunter.'

'A hunter? Like the Argent's?' Stiles asked, having just listened to only a small part of my story.

'Yeah I guess. I told him everything, about my ability, where I had come from. He told me that not all hunters were like him, and that I needed to be careful and keep my ability a secret. I stayed with him for about 9 months. He trained me in armed and unarmed combat, how to defend myself, and more importantly, he taught me all about the supernatural.'

'But why? Why would a hunter want to train you?'

'He said I wasn't like the other supernaturals he had met. I guess he thought in the long run, it would be useful having a partner who couldn't get hurt. And I guess he was alone, just like me. He was like family.'

'What was his name?' Stiles asked in a soft voice.

'Dylan, Dylan Bristol,' I said, the memories of my old friend flooding my mind. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away before Stiles had a chance to notice. 'We moved around a lot. Dylan said it wasn't safe for us, especially me, to stay in the same place for too long – we had to be careful. But we weren't careful enough.' I paused as the memories of that night came crashing around me and I shivered where I stood, remembering the screams of my best friend, my only family, telling me to run.

'What happened,' Stiles asked. I looked into his eyes. They were filled with questions and concern. I decided that if was going to carry on with the story, I needed to distance myself from any emotions I felt about that night – there was no way I would be able to get through it if I didn't. I had never told anyone about that night, ever, and it came as a surprise to me more than anyone that Stiles was the one who would hear it.

'They came one night. We would have gotten away, but there were too many of them,' I said, my face feeling heavy as I spoke the sombre words. 'They went for him first. He told me to run, to leave him, but I didn't listen – how could I? There was no way I was leaving him.'

I could tell Stiles was troubled by what I had told him, and concerned that I was upset. 'You don't have to tell me anything else,' he said, but I could tell he wanted me to continue.

'No,' I told him, 'you need to hear the rest.' I took a deep breath before I continued. 'At first I thought they were taking me to some kind of prison, or that they were just going to try and kill me, but that's not what happened. The men who came worked for this company, it was some kind of supernatural intel facility. And they had a unit at the bottom where they kept all the 'subjects', that's what they called us. It was supposed to be a scientific research base, to everyone on the outside that is, but it wasn't.'

'Like Eichen House,' Stiles said quietly, and I nodded.

'There were a whole load of researchers there, and every day they would come down and poke and prod us like we were animals or something.'

'What else was there?' Stiles asked.

'Werewolves, wendigoes, and god knows what else. There was a banshee too, but I never saw her, just heard her screams every now and again.' Stiles looked horrified by my words and I debated in my head whether I should continue for his sake.

'What happened to you there?' the boy beside me asked, and I took that as my queue that I should carry on.

'This one guy there took an interest in me especially, he was pretty crazy. I think he must have got a kick out of watching me heal over and over again or something. Almost every day he would bring a new idea he wanted to try: poisons, all kinds of surgery, bone reconstruction, dissection, trepanation…' His head shot up at the last one and I frowned, but decided not to ask.

'Oh my god,' Stiles said, a pained look of sympathy written on his face. I shivered thinking about everything that had happened to me and was grateful I was no longer there. 'Alex, I'm…'

'Don't apologise,' I said, quickly cutting him off, 'It's not your fault, it's there's. They're the reason I am how I am.' His eyes flooded with what seemed to be grief and hurt for me and soon we fell into a silence that wasn't comfortable or awkward.

'Who was he?' Stiles asked after a while.

'I never knew his real name, he only ever went by this code name he gave himself – I think it was for some kind of protection or something,' I explained.

'What was it?'

'The Chemist,' I said ominously and felt another shiver run down my spine.

'And what happened to Dylan?'

'I don't know, I never saw him again,' I said sombrely a I could see an apologetic look on Stiles' face.

'Do you think he's dead?' Stiles asked.

'I'm not sure, but for his sake, I hope so,' I replied truthfully. If they had kept him alive, I didn't even want to imagine what they might have done to him. 'I should get going,' I said after a beat, now wanting to get out of his room as fast as possible. Stiles stood as I made for the door, awkwardly reaching out a hand to comfort me. He ended up patting me on the shoulder harder than he must have intended. It didn't hurt but it certainly wasn't comforting. I wanted to giggle at his awkwardness but I bit my tongue – at least he was trying to be friendly which was more than I could say for myself. I smiled a little at him before turning back towards his bedroom door.

'Wait,' Stiles said suddenly, remembering something me had meant to ask. I turned my head to look at him, expecting him to continue with what he wanted to say, but he remained silent, eyeing me weirdly as my hand hovered over the door handle.

'What?' I snapped at him as he continued to look at me oddly.

'Nothing, I just thought you might want to talk about the _other_ thing…' he said and I narrowed my eyes at him.

'What other thing?' I said, turning my body away from the door to face him.

'You know? The Derek thing?' he said as if it was obvious.

'What Derek thing?' I asked, growing more and more irritated by the second.

'You know? You and him… you two…?' He awkwardly gestured to me with his arms and had a pained look in his face that said he wanted me to catch on quick so he didn't have to explain fully what he was talking about.

'Stiles, there is no Derek thing! As in, me and Derek are not a thing!' I yelled as I rolled my eyes at him. He didn't look convinced.

'But you want it to be a thing,' he said as if it was a fact.

'What?! No!' I yelled again, trying to get him to drop the uncomfortable subject as quickly as possible. It was strange how this kid could go from having a serious and mature conversation to behaving like a six-year-old in only a few minutes.

'He wants it to be a thing?'

'No! No one wants it to be a thing!' I clarified, hoping he would get the message.

'Why? Don't you think he's attractive?' he asked, as if I had done something to offend him. I was completely taken aback by this sudden U turn in the conversation that I had no idea how to respond. 'You hesitated,' he said as he grinned mischievously at me. I imagined steam coming out of my ears as I screamed in frustration before I kicked him in the shins.

'Okay, okay, I get it,' he said in defeat as he raised his hands. 'I won't mention you and Derek again.'

I grabbed him by the top of his shirt, not too hard, remembering he was only human, and brought his face close to mine. 'There is no me and Derek, are we clear?' I asked in my most threatening tone. He gulped and nodded before I released him with a smirk. It still made me laugh how much I intimidated him and I wondered it there would ever come a time that he wasn't a little a bit scared of me. 'I'll be leaving now,' I told him with a fake smile. I spun around on my heel and marched to his door.

'Ah crap,' I heard a small but desperate voice say from behind me. I whipped me head around, ready to strangle this kid if he didn't just let me leave.

'What could it possibly be this time?' I asked harshly, scowling at him as he punched at his phone screen with one hand and fiddled with his car keys with the other.

'I was supposed to meet Lydia at the Sheriff's station a half hour ago,' he said, eyes still fixed on his phone. I huffed in frustration for the kid before sighing and walking over to him. I snatched the keys from his hand, making his gaze snap from his phone to me.

'I'll drive,' I said, before stalking out of the room.

* * *

By the time we arrived at the station, Lydia was already there. As we pulled into a parking space she came over to the jeep.

'Sorry we're late,' Stiles said as he jumped out of the passenger seat.

'What's she doing here?' Lydia asked, peering past Stiles and into the jeep where I was still sat in the driver's seat.

'Nice to see you again too, Lydia,' I said, grinning at her with my best fake smile. It wasn't that I didn't like Lydia, we just didn't know each other, which meant she didn't trust me. I couldn't complain; if I was her I probably wouldn't trust me either, but it did make it a little difficult for us to get along. 'What are we doing here anyway?' I asked as I got out of the jeep, throwing the keys at Stiles who fumbled with them for a few seconds before slinging them into his pocket.

'We need to talk to Deputy Parrish,' Lydia said, and by _we_ I could tell she meant just Stiles and herself.

'Probably best if I stay here then,' I said, glaring at Lydia, annoyed that the strawberry blonde was now telling me what to do, although, it was probably a good idea if I didn't go in with them – the last two encounters I'd had with the deputy involved me being injected with cyanide and him tackling me to the ground after I jumped out of a window. 'Why do you have to talk to him anyway?' I asked suspiciously, eyeing Stiles and avoiding the banshee's stare.

'We're gonna tell him about the deadpool,' Stiles blurted out like it was some big secret I wasn't meant to find out about.

'What? Why?' I asked, narrowing my eyes at the pair of teens.

'Because he's on it.' I turned to Lydia as she spoke, my eyes widening.

'Do you-.'

'No we don't know what he is,' Lydia interrupted, guessing my questions before the words had fully formed on my tongue.

'Well there's no way I'm missing this,' I said, chuckling coldly under my breath as I hopped off the bonnet of the jeep. Lydia was about to protest but I saw Stiles shoot her a look that told her to just let me come. I smiled to myself at how easily I could get my way sometimes.

* * *

'Your dad should be back within the hour,' Deputy Parrish told Stiles as we approached the front desk. He had yet to notice me as I was hidden by the bodies of the two teens in front of me. 'You want to wait in his office?'

'Actually, we want to talk to you,' Stiles said. The deputy looked up from his computer screen, his eyes widening when he caught sight of me, recognising my face instantly.

'Privately,' Lydia clarified, Parrish's gaze drifting to the strawberry blonde for a second before returning to me. I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to pull his gun on me (something I could tell he wanted to do by the look on his face). I shook my head at him slowly, a smirk on my lips and I could almost hear his heart rate picking up in slight fear of me. He nodded wordlessly at us, leading us into the Sherriff's office where we could talk freely without the worry of prying ears.

He took a seat and I perched myself on the large desk. Stiles and Lydia stood in front of him, ready to deliver the news. Parrish continued to eye my suspiciously as I glared at him, before being distracted by the piece of paper being thrust into his hand by Stiles.

'This is a hit list?' he asked after examining the piece of paper.

'We call it a deadpool,' Stiles said. 'Recognize any of the names?'

'Yeah. The Sheriff had me run a bunch of these through the system last night. But we couldn't find any of them,' Parrish replied. 'What does she have to do with any of this?' he asked, nodding his head at me. I smirked at him and hopped off the desk. I could tell he was afraid of me. I didn't know how much he knew already, but everything he had seen of me so far didn't paint a pretty picture.

'This is the second part of the list,' I said before Stiles or Lydia had a chance to explain, 'I'm on the first part.' His eyes widened and I could tell he was still confused. He opened his mouth to speak but Stiles cut him off.

'That's not important right now,' he stated looked over to Lydia. 'Show him the other thing.' Lydia reached out and took the piece of paper from the deputy's hand, flipping it over to he could read what was on the other side. The paper had been folded, concealing the last name on the list: Jordan Parrish.

'Okay. That's kind of terrifying,' Parrish said as he stared at his own name. 'What's the number?' he asked, referring to the 5 placed next to his name.

'That's how much you're worth,' Lydia stated apprehensively.

'I'm worth five dollars?' Parrish said, and I smiled a little at his naivety.

'Five million,' Stiles interjected, holding up five fingers to show how much he meant.

'I only make 40,000 a year. Maybe I should kill myself,' Parrish said, causing me to snort in amusement before coughing loudly to mask my laughter. Stiles sent me an unimpressed look – he knew full well that I never got sick. 'I don't get it. Why... Why am I on this?' Parrish asked, tearing his eyes away from the paper to look at the teens, eyes shifting between Stiles and Lydia. I raised my eye brows at Stiles as he looked between Lydia and myself for help answering the awkward question.

'Honestly, that might be a question for another day. Right now, there's still another third of the list we gotta crack,' Stiles said urgently and my eyes lit up at his words. _That's why they were here._

'We need the third cipher key. But we need help getting it,' Lydia explained.

'From who?' Parrish said, asking the question I also wanted to know the answer to.

'Meredith,' Lydia said, causing me to frown. _Meredith Walker._ I had heard her name before. Scott had mentioned it to me when he was filling me on all that had happened in the past year. She was a Banshee.

'The girl from Eichen? The last time you saw her, you almost gave her a nervous breakdown,' Parrish said, dismissing the idea.

'Uh... Almost,' Lydia argued, causing me to chuckle again, her remark reminded me of something I would say. The deputy sighed heavily, before finally nodding and agreeing to the request.

'Okay, we'll go talk to Meredith.'

* * *

 **AN: So Alex and Stiles finally had 'the talk' and she opened up to him a little bit. Although she had told him a lot about what happened to her this is far from the whole story. I'll develop this further in later chapters but for now, this is all Alex is letting on.**

 **As a side note, having wanted to for ages I FINALLY watched the first episode of Supernatural and it's AMAZING! Dean, where have you been all my life? Hehe just thought I'd let you guys know, though if you are a fan of the show you probably are way ahead of me!**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter and have a happy weekend :)**


	13. Chapter 12 - Disappointment

We pulled up the Eichen house a little under an hour later, Stiles, Lydia and I in the baby blue jeep as Deputy Parrish followed us in the squad car. After parking, we slid out of the jeep and made our way up to Eichen house. It was just as big and creepy as I had imagined that I thought it would be the perfect place to shoot a horror movie. Once we entered the building and Parrish was busy using his Deputy charms on the receptionist, I took the opportunity to talk to Stiles about something that had been prying on my mind ever since I had heard the name Meredith Walker just under an hour ago. I pulled him to the side, making sure we were out of ear shot of any cops or redheads that could be listening in.

'Stiles, about Meredith…' I started, and Stiles frowned, obviously having taken the hint that I wanted something, 'when we go in there, I need to talk to her.'

'Talk to her? About what?' Stiles asked, his frown deepening.

'About me. I need to see if she has any _Banshee_ feelings,' I said, making sure my voice was hushed. Stiles' eyes widened.

'Oh crap, I didn't even think about that,' he said, eyes a little wild with worry, 'do you think it's a good idea for you to come in with us? Maybe we should talk to Lydia first…' I asked.

'No, Stiles,' I said, sighing and thinking of another approach. 'I think we both know that Lydia was lying before when she said she didn't hear anything the other day at the school. There's something she senses or hears when I'm around her that makes her not trust me, and for one reason or another, she's not saying what it is. I need to know the truth,' I said, looking to Stiles with pleading eyes.

He let out a long sigh before running his fingers through his chocolate hair. 'Okay, what do you need me to do?'

I smiled a little, out of relief more than anything, but also in thanks for the teen agreeing to help. 'I just need you to back me up, okay?' I said, still whispering. He nodded in agreement and we turned back to Parrish and Lydia who had managed to convince one of the guards to take us to Meredith's room.

We were lead down a narrow corridor before the guard stopped in front of a closed door and fumbled with a large set of keys, struggling to find the right one. A noise was heard at the other end of the corridor and a man emerged with a pissed off look on his face. He looked like a dick, which was confirmed my Stiles' irritated sigh of 'oh no, not this guy.'

'What the hell are we running here? A bed and breakfast?' the man said as he snatched the set of keys out of the other guard's hand. 'We do not just open the door for anyone with a badge,' he said as he continued to scold the other guard.

'We need to talk to Meredith Walker. It involves a murder investigation,' Parrish explained to the jackass who was holding us up.

'Well, you can talk to her all you want, but these three, especially that one...' he said, pointing a finger into Stiles chest as he glared at the teen evilly, 'they're outta here.'

'They're crucial witnesses in an ongoing investigation. I wouldn't have brought them here if it wasn't absolutely... Crucial,' Parrish said, trailing off at the end so awkwardly that I wanted to slap him for being such an idiot.

'Okay, Deputy. How about you come back with a court order, then I'll listen. As for you, Mr. Stilinski, how about you come back with payment in full. That's right. Daddy may be the Sheriff, but he's late on the bills. I guess those government jobs aren't as reliable as they used to be, huh?' At this, I balled my fists up by my sides and was ready to swing a punch at this guy, but before I had a chance, Parrish had stepped forward.

'But they do help when you need a favour. Like, how a month ago, Canaan P.D. helped you get home after blowing 0.1 on a breathalyser,' Parrish said, a smug expression on his face that probably represented how all four of us were feeling on the inside right now.

'All right. I'm not against a little quid pro quo. Not at all. Not at all,' the guard said, suddenly feeling defensive. He swiftly took out a key and opened up the door to Meredith's room before heading back down the hall way and out of sight.

'You. You, I like you,' Stiles said, turning to Parrish with a goofy grin on his face, 'I'm gonna keep you.' I rolled my eyes at this before pushing passed the other three and into the room.

I swung the door open to reveal a dark room and two beds. I stopped in my tracks as I noticed the figure sitting on one of them. Her fragile frame was illuminated by the small lamp sitting on the side table that flickered ominously once in a while. As we crowded under the door frame, the girl looked up towards us, catching my eye first before shifting her gaze to the other three. I let Stiles and Lydia file in first before stepping across the threshold of the small cell and I noticed Meredith visibly tense as I did.

I kept my distance from her and leaned against the closed door next to Parrish as Lydia and Stiles sat across from her on the empty bed.

'Meredith,' Lydia said softly but urgently to the girl who was still hunched on the side of the bed. 'Meredith, we need your help.' The girl gave no indication of response and Lydia sighed. Clearly this was going to be harder than we had first thought.

'Meredith, we need you to tell us the third cypher key,' Stiles said, and Meredith's head snapped up.

'I can't tell you,' she said in a small but shaky voice.

'Meredith, what you mean you can't tell us?' Lydia asked, getting more and more agitated.

'We just need the third key. You can give it to us in numbers, letters, hieroglyphs. Whatever you want,' Stiles chimed in, trying to persuade the girl to help.

'I can't,' Meredith repeated, and something told me that none of us would be walking out of here with what we wanted.

'Then why did you give us the second key?' Lydia asked.

'I wanted to help. That's what I want to do. I want to help,' Meredith explained, causing all of us to raise out eyebrows at the girl's motives. She seemed oddly calm at this point, but I had a feeling that that was about to change.

'Great. So help us now. Okay? Give us the third cipher key,' Lydia said, practically begging Meredith to help us.

'Things have changed. I... I can't,' she said, her voice getting gradually shakier. She sounded frightened now.

'Why not?' Stiles asked, the urgency in his voice clear.

'Guys, go easy on her,' Parrish warned from beside me.

'I'm sorry. I can't. He... He doesn't want me to.' At her words, I pulled away from the wall, wondering who she meant by him – it couldn't be _him_ , could it?

'He? Who's he?' I said, speaking to the girl for the first time. Her eyes suddenly became sharp and her vision snapped to me as she looked at me right in the eyes, not saying a word. I backed off a bit at this as she continued to stare me down.

'Meredith, who doesn't want you to tell us the third cipher key?' Lydia said, trying to get Meredith's attention away from me, and I was partly thankful for that – she was starting to really creep me out.

After a long pause as Meredith continued to stare right through me, her gaze slid back to Stiles and Lydia as she mumbled the words, 'The Benefactor.'

I felt a gentle but firm hand rest on both of my shoulders and pull me backwards away from the bed. I didn't resist as Deputy Parrish pulled me away. It was clear he could see how I was affecting Meredith, even if he didn't know why. Once I was back behind the bed he released my shoulders, but still kept a close proximity, almost as if he was protecting me.

'What's his name? You could just tell us his name,' Lydia asked, a little frantic. She was standing up now and pacing the small space between the two beds. Meredith began to shake her head, her eyes wide.

'Okay, you're shaking your head. What's that mean? Does that mean you don't know? Or you don't want to help us?' Stiles asked. His voice already sounded defeated, but it was clear that Lydia wasn't going to take no for an answer.

'I can't... I can't help anymore,' Meredith continued to say, her voice becoming shakier and more scared by the second.

'How do you know about him?' Lydia asked as Meredith began to shake her head more and more violently. She was now breathing heavily too and that was enough for Parrish to step forward.

'Guys, I think we better stop,' Parrish said, looking concerned for the girl. I could see my window of opportunity for asking the girl my own questions slipping away, and at some point, I needed to act if I was going to get what I came for.

'Meredith, a lot of people are going to die if you don't tell us,' Lydia said, raising her voice as she got more and more frustrated.

'I don't... I don't know. I don't know,' Meredith continued to say, her voice getting louder and louder.

'Meredith, it's okay. You're gonna be all right,' Parrish said, trying to calm the girl down.

'I don't…I don't know!' Meredith suddenly screamed, the sound taking on an inhuman quality. It had been a while since I had heard the sound of a Banshee scream, and it hadn't got any easier to listen too. The sound sent Lydia back a few feet into Stiles' arms as she clutched her head, beads of blood running down her face from her ears. Stiles looked at her with worry and concern as he frowned, first at the scared Lydia, and then at the girl who was now huddled in a ball on the bed, still shaking her head a little too violently to be normal.

I knew as I stared at the scene before me that my timing couldn't be any worse, but I needed to know. 'Okay, my turn,' I said as I pushed past Parrish who was standing a little in front of me and walking over to the bed in which the girl was sat on.

'Alex…' Stiles said, as he looked up from a wide eyed Lydia and realised what I was about to do. 'Alex, what are you doing?' he said in a much harsher tone, but I barely heard him. All I was focused on was the banshee in the corner, the girl who could potentially tell me everything I had ever wanted to know since I first found out about my ability. I knew it was risky, and probably stupid, but right now, I didn't care.

'Sorry Stiles,' I said in a voice that said I was not sorry one bit as I reached out to touch Meredith shoulder.

'Alex, no!' Stiles yelled as I was about to connect with her shoulder, but before I could, Meredith's hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist with a strength not possible for a person her size. I pulled away slightly from her, out of shock than anything, but this only caused her to hold on tighter, her nails digging into the skin of my forearm.

Parrish was now at my side, ready to prise Meredith's fingers off of my wrist but before he could, Lydia stopped him. 'Wait!' she said, causing the Deputy to look over at her with furrowed eyebrows. 'Don't touch them, either of them,' Lydia said, and Parrish hesitantly backed off.

'Meredith,' I said, and the girl's head snapped up so she was staring at me once again. She was mumbling something under her breath, insanely quiet and fast that I couldn't make out any of it. Her fingers began to dig in harder and not before long, I felt her nails pierce through the skin and blood began to flow down my arm and onto the floor.

As soon as the blood had touched Meredith's fingers, she gasped loudly, causing the rest of us to mimic her actions. 'You… he's coming for you…' Meredith whispered, and it was all I could do not to scream. 'You don't belong here…' she continued, and I knew instantly what she was talking about, 'you shouldn't be here…you're not supposed to be here…'

'Meredith, what do you hear?' I asked slowly, and her eyes went wild as they stared through me.

'Silence,' she whispered almost inaudibly, 'and… death.' I froze at her words, finally, tearing my eyes away from hers and looking at my bloodied arm. A substantial puddle of my blood how now formed on the floor.

'Okay, that's enough,' I heard Parrish say from behind me and he reached over to try and release Meredith's grip on me, only to be interrupted again by the loudest and most inhuman scream I had ever heard. It ripped through my body like a bullet, causing me to leap back with so much force that Meredith was forced to let go of my arm. Parrish immediately took me by the shoulders and pulled me out of the room with much more force than he did before.

'What the hell was that?' he yelled at me. He looked just as shaken as I felt, though I was breathing much more heavily than him, causing me to be unable to answer his question, though I didn't know what I would say anyway. What had just happened?

Stiles and Lydia came out of the room after us, a ghostly looking Lydia practically being dragged by a worried Stiles who didn't look much better. He glanced at me, an unreadable expression on his face as his eyes moved from my face to my arm. I followed his line of sight down to my arm smeared in red. All that was there was smooth skin and I wiped off the blood on the back of my jeans.

* * *

The drive back to Stiles' house was in complete silence, none of us knowing what to say. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel at all guilty. I did. But I also knew that I only did what had to be done, even if I didn't get all the answers I was looking for. As we arrived on the porch, Stiles opened the door, letting Lydia inside the house. He waited, facing away from me, as I stepped down onto the driveway.

'So um… I think I'm gonna take off,' I said awkwardly. It was clear that there was something bothering him, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what. He didn't move at my words and I turned around, about to walk off into the night.

'Are we gonna talk about what just happened?' his voice said through the night air. It was starting to drizzle and I really didn't want to have this conversation.

'There's nothing to talk about,' I said as I continued to walk away from him without turning back.

'Oh there's a lot to talk about,' he said as he followed me down the drive. He was angry. 'How could you do that?'

'I told you, I needed answers,' I said simply, turning around to face the boy. I expected him to have come closer, but he was still a few feet away from me, looking at me with an unreadable expression. All I knew is that I didn't like it.

'Yeah, but to provoke her like that – after she was already upset?' he said, as if he couldn't believe how I could have acted that way. He was staring to raise his voice now and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few nosy neighbours listening in to our conversation, not to mention Lydia who could probably hear every word.

'I'm not the one who upset her,' I said defensively. I hadn't meant to sound accusing, but I clearly had.

'So this is my fault now?' he said, gobsmacked by my words.

'No Stiles, that's not what I said.'

'You could have killed Meredith!' he shouted at me. The first thing that ran through my head was that he was over reacting, but I held my tongue.

'How could I have known she would react that way?' I said instead, hoping he would be able to see things from my point of view.

'You saw how scared she was. And Lydia…'

'Seriously? You're making this about Lydia?' I said as I rolled my eyes at him. Stiles certainly had his priorities figured out.

'Hey don't turn this around on me. Why did you do it?' he said, his brow furrowed in anger and confusion.

'To get answers,' I said again.

'Yeah about your ability, I know. I guess I just didn't expect you to be okay with hurting people in the process.'

'Hey, it's not like I planned that to happen.'

'So what? She was just collateral damage? I thought you wanted to help her.' It was as if he was trying to hold onto something in me, something good and pure, and although it made me a little sad, his words enraged me more than I thought words from this boy ever could.

'God, Stiles! You have it in your head that I'm some hero who wants to save you all, that I'm a good person, but let me tell you something Stiles, I'm not a good person!' Now I was the one yelling at him, and part of me felt bad for doing it, but the other part, the guarded part of me, felt comfort in the feeling of pushing someone away.

'Yeah, you're right, I see that now,' he said quietly, his words stinging more than I expected them to.

'Don't do that. Don't look at me like I've betrayed you somehow,' I said, shaking my head at him.

'You have!' he said, looking hurt and defeated.

'I told you from the start that I wasn't looking to make friends, I was very clear about that,' I said, echoing my words from our first meeting in the animal clinic.

'Then why did you tell my all the stuff about your past, huh? Why tell me about Dylan?'

'Because I needed you to trust me,' I said with a sigh, telling him anything I could to end this conversation. I knew if I stayed for much longer, I would end up breaking down or worse, and I couldn't let him see me weak.

'Oh yeah, and how's that working out for you?' he said with a harshness to his voice that I didn't realise existed within him.

'Why do you care so much Stiles? Why does it bother you so much that I do the right thing?' I yelled as I stepped closer to him, my face contorted in angst.

'Because I thought we were friends, despite what you said at the beginning,' his words made a lump form in my throat and I knew I needed to swallow it down if I hoped of getting out of here with even a shred of dignity.

'I don't have friends,' I said, my voice cold and harsh. I turned away from him once again and carried on walking down the drive. 'Go back inside,' I said when I didn't hear his footsteps on the tarmac.

'You know what? Scott was wrong to ever think we could trust you. You're so wrapped up in your own problems that you can't even see when people are trying to support you, to help you!' he yelled after me, the hurt he felt evident in his voice.

'Go home, Stiles,' I said sternly, tears pricking in my eyes as I walked off into the darkness alone, though I would never let them fall.

* * *

 **AN: So that happened. I'd be super bummed out if Stiles was mad at me.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who had followed/favorited/reviewed. I get super excited when I get an email about it!**

 **Also, is it me or are Sam and Dean like hunter versions of Stefan and Damon? I don't know who I like best! But I feel Sam and Dean are cuter. But Damon and Stefan... No its too hard. I like them all.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter, will hopefully post the next one soon! Much love :)**


	14. Chapter 13 - Girls Just Want To Have Fun

A knock at the door caused me to groan from under my blanket on the couch and turn the volume up on the TV. For the past few days I had been hauled up in my apartment feeling sorry for myself for no apparent reason other than my own selfishness and denial. I had barely spoken to anyone, apart from the occasional phone call – mostly from Scott and unsurprisingly, none from Stiles. Other than the two men who had arrived yesterday to change the carpet in my living room, I had yet to see another human being since my argument with Stiles three days ago. All my conversations had been with people simply filling me in on what had happened over the past few days, unless you count the delightful conversation that had involved me explaining that it was, in fact, a red wine stain that had ruined my carpet and not the result of a supernatural assassin trying to kill me. So far, all I had missed was that Garret and Violet were dead, Kate had returned and Liam had been saved from death by well (that was pretty much the gist, anyway). Oh, and Lydia had cracked the third part of the list.

The incessant knocking continued over the loud noise of the TV and I groaned again, before rolling off the couch and sulking across the new carpet to the door, blanket and all. I was greeted with a cheery, 'Hey Alex,' from the person I least expected to see at my door. These teens really had a habit of doing this at the most inconvenient times. And how the hell did they all know where I lived?

'Hi Kira,' I replied not so cheerily to the Kitsune who was smiling widely at me, though I could tell it was partly forced. Oh well, I guess I appreciated the effort. Not.

'I haven't seen you in a while,' she said, as if we were friends who had fallen out of touch.

'I haven't seen anyone in a while,' I shot back icily. She didn't comment on my words, simply smiling though my obvious contempt towards her.

'Can I come in?' she asked chirpily.

It was a strange request from the dark haired girl, but I was intrigued by it anyhow. Why would Kira, of all people, turn up on my door step? We had barely said two words to each other. 'What do you want?' I asked in a cold voice as I narrowed my eyes at the girl, but it did nothing to diminish her enthusiasm.

'I thought you could use some girl time. Maybe we could go to the mall?' she asked, her eyes bright with hope and determination.

'You want me to go shopping with you?' I said sceptically as I raised my eye brows at her. She released a breath I didn't realise she had been holding and sighed before smiling kindly at me. This time it was genuine and a little sad.

'I know about your argument with…' she trailed off and I was thankful she didn't say his name.

'How did –,' I began, only to be cut off.

'He told Scott…,' she said quickly, as if she though it would make me mad.

'And Scott told you,' I finished for her and she nodded. We stood there in silence for a few moments as she re-thought her tactic for getting me out of the house.

'Look,' she sighed, 'I know what it's like when you fall out with a friend…'

'We're not friends,' I clarified, feeling like a broken record.

'Scott said you might say that,' she said with a small smile. 'He also told me not to believe a word of it,' she continued with a little laugh.

I sighed a long sigh, realising I wasn't getting out of this. 'I guess I could use some new clothes,' I said, causing her to smile widely and nod at me.

'Cool, okay,' she said as she walked away from the door. 'I'll be in the car. Meet me down there when you're ready?' she asked and I nodded with a small smile. She was making an effort to be nice, so I decided I would do the same.

* * *

The good thing about Kira is that she never stops talking. Usually, her rambling would probably irritate me, but not today. Whenever she's talking I don't have to talk, and right now I didn't want to participate in any form on conversation.

'…so _then_ I had to pretend to invite Liam to a party at Lydia's lake house just so we could make sure he didn't kill anyone on the full moon…' Kira's words drifted in and out of my mind, very few of her sentences actually registering in my head at all. I had let her monologue almost the entire trip to the mall whilst I had been sitting stiffly in the passenger seat. I had suggested we drive separately instead but she had insisted.

So far I had been pretending to listen quite successfully as she rambled on. Now she was telling me how she, Scott and Stiles had to chain Malia and Liam up in Lydia's lake house whilst the red head herself threw a party. I hadn't asked about it but she seemed to think I wanted to know. I could vaguely recall Stiles mentioning a party on the full moon, though he focused mainly on the decapitated werewolf they had found in the street that night. _Demarco_.

'…and I think that was around about the time when Scott got a call from Derek to say you were unconscious at the station,' Kira finished.

'Dead,' I corrected her. She looked confused.

'What?'

'I was dead at the station,' I repeated bluntly. She shuffled next to me uncomfortably.

'Oh right, sorry, that whole situation still really creeps me…' she stopped herself when she noticed my glare. 'Anyway,' she laughed nervously, 'I've been talking a lot, why do you take over?' She glanced over at me expectantly, waiting to hear my response, though I wasn't entirely sure what that was supposed to be.

'Are we nearly there?' I said flatly, feeling like this car journey was taking forever. Kira winced at my detached tone.

'Yeah, it's just coming up on the right.' This was going to be a long day.

* * *

I browsed through the rack of clothes, only feeling slightly more irritated than usual. The few tops I had found that weren't completely horrendous hadn't been my size, lowering my already pretty foul mood. I could tell Kira wasn't enjoying herself much either, though she tried hard not to show it. After only about half an hour of aimlessly looking though clothes I decided to call it a day and left the store to find some coffee.

Kira caught up with me when she noticed me make my exit and I inwardly huffed. Couldn't she just give it a rest and leave me to myself.

'So Alex,' she started as she attempted to start yet another conversation. 'Do you have any theories on who the benefactor is?'

'A few,' I replied as I approached café and ordered a triple espresso. It was clear that wasn't the answer she was hoping for. I sighed. 'Do you?' I handed the barista money for my drink and walked away from the café, Kira following close behind.

'Yeah, I think everyone does,' she said lightly. 'At first I thought it was Peter, you know, because he's not on the Deadpool?' she said. I contemplated her words. I had, too, considered Peter Hale as a possibility, though I worried my profound feelings of dislike for the werewolf were clouding my judgment.

'What made you change your mind?' I asked. She looked up from beside me, perhaps surprised that I was engaging in the conversation.

'Just something Scott said once. He said that Peter hates a lot of things, but he doesn't think family is one of them.' The teen wolf's reasoning made sense. From what Stiles had told me, Peter had done some pretty evil stuff, but would he really want Derek dead? His own nephew?

'I see what you mean,' I said quietly and she looked satisfied with my reply.

'Yeah, I mean, even Peter Hale isn't evil enough to pay someone to kill his own daughter,' she said. I stopped in my tracks.

'What did you just say?' I asked, turning to the kitsune who had suddenly gone very silent as if she had only just realised what she had said.

'I uh…' she trailed off, clearly having not meant to let the secret slip.

'Peter has a daughter?' I asked incredulously. The thought made me a little nauseous. 'Who is it?'

'Oh God, I shouldn't have said anything,' she said, wincing as she thought about how she should have held her tongue.

'Kira,' I warned.

'It's Malia,' she said after sighing. My eyes went wide.

'Malia?!' I all but yelled and she shushed me quickly, looking around nervously to make sure no one had heard us. 'Malia, as in, Stiles' were-coyote girlfriend, Malia?' I whisper-yelled at her through gritted teeth.

'Yeah,' she whispered as she chewed on her bottom lip. 'Alex, promise me you won't say anything to anyone, okay?' she asked urgently.

'Why the hell not?' I asked, irritated by being told what to do.

'Because no one else was meant to find out. Not until…' she trailed off.

'Not until what?'

'Not until we tell Malia.' She looked up from the ground as if she was ashamed of something. I rolled my eyes at her.

'She doesn't know? How can she not know?' I asked.

'She was adopted,' Kira explained defensively. 'She doesn't know who her real parents are.'

'Then how come you all know?'

'I'm not entirely sure. Lydia had some kind of banshee vision.' Right. Of course. Lydia's abilities stretch from predicting death to identifying illegitimate children. 'The Deadpool also says 'Malia Hale'.' I huffed at the girl, though not because I was irritated with her in particular.

'You know she's gonna see the deadpool sooner or later,' I said with a sigh.

'We know,' she replied. 'We're just worried, you know?' She looked concerned for the coyote and it was clear that her and her friends' intentions were only good.

'I get it,' I said finally. 'How do you tell your friend that her father is a killer psychotic werewolf?'

* * *

The day dragged as the seconds stretched to minutes and the minutes elongated to hours. Shortly after Kira had let slip the little secret the pack had been keeping from one of its members I had declared that I wanted to leave and, since she was my ride, I was stuck yet again in the car with the dark haired Kitsune.

We sat in silence and though it wasn't a comfortable one, it wasn't an awkward one either. It was more tension filled than anything. I felt like she had been walking on eggshells around me the whole day as to not set me off. Did they all see me as some kind of grenade that needed to be constantly watched or else I would explode? Or maybe she just spent the day with me because she felt sorry for me. That thought didn't make me feel any better about the whole situation. I didn't need her pity, nor did I want it.

I was brought out of my own thoughts by the obtrusive ringing of a cell phone. It wasn't mine.

'Can you get that for me?' Kira asked, fumbling in her pocket for the mobile whilst trying to keep her eyes on the road. Once she had it she tossed it into my lap and I picked it up, looking at the screen.

'It's Scott,' I said blankly, really not feeling like answering for the Kitsune. When the phone kept ringing, Kira shot me a look that said 'will you just answer it already?' I begrudgingly complied.

'What?' I asked harshly down the phone. After the day's fiasco which had clearly been planned by him, the teen wolf wasn't exactly in my good books.

'Alex?' he asked, clearly confused. 'Where's Kira?'

'She's driving,' I replied flatly.

'Oh, where have you been?' he asked, feigning naivety. I knew he knew exactly where Kira and I had been. It was clear the whole idea had been his.

'Playing dumb is never an attractive quality on werewolves, Scott,' I said smoothly and I could hear him stuttering on the other end of the line. 'Do you have a message for Kira?' I waited impatiently as he cleared his throat.

'Yeah,' he said.

'Good, then you can tell her yourself,' I replied as I shoved the phone into Kira's hand, forcing her to let go of one hand on the steering wheel to hold it. She shot me an unimpressed look and I turned away from her in annoyance. I wasn't going to be their messenger.

I blocked out their conversation, simply focussing on the street outside the window that crawled by. There was another thing I didn't want to think about. Something else that had happened only a little after me and Stiles' argument: Meredith was dead. I tried not to think about it, but it was hard. I told myself over and over that it wasn't my fault, and even if it was, I didn't need to feel bad about it. But inevitably, I did feel bad about it. And the real reason as to why I had been keeping myself to myself for the past few days had been for one simple reason: I couldn't face them. I couldn't face Lydia. I couldn't face Stiles. He had been right after all. And I couldn't face Scott – the one who had put his trust in me the most. I had let them all down. I doubted any of them would trust me again. And the worst part was that it didn't surprise me.

I heard Kira say goodbye to Scott and shove her phone back into her pocket.

'We need to stop off at Scott's quickly,' she said as she turned down an unfamiliar street.

'Can't you drop me off at my apartment first?' I asked.

'We're almost there anyway,' she replied. We soon pulled up outside what I presumed to be Scott's house. I debated on waiting in the car for her but decided against it. One more moment in that car and I might've actually died.

I followed her onto the front porch where Scott had already opened the door. He greeted me fairly normally before pulling Kira into another room to have a conversation they clearly didn't want he to listen in on. However, me being me, I decided to try and listen in on it anyway.

Just as I was about to press my ear to the door I heard footsteps enter the hallway and turned sharply around ready to defend myself. In front of me stood a dark haired woman dressed in hospital scrubs. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face. I had definitely seen her before. She stared back at me, her features showing the same recognition as mine, though it was clear she didn't seem surprised to see me.

'You must be Alex,' she said, smiling at me kindly. 'I'm Melissa.' She looked as if she was debating whether or not she should put out a hand for me to shake. She didn't. Her demeanour somehow resembled that of the rest of the pack whenever they were around me and I wondered whether she was in on our little supernatural secret. It irritated me that she seemed to know who I was but I couldn't find it within me to snap at her and demand answers.

'I've met you before,' I mused without really realising I had said the words out loud. She nodded with a small smile.

'Yes, at the hospital. The night of the Walcott murder?' she told me. Then it all clicked. She was the nurse who rushed over when Sean and I had stumbled into the hospital. 'I'm Scott's mom.'

'Do you -,' I started but she had already anticipated my question.

'Yeah, I know,' she said.

'About everything?' I asked.

'Well everything my son has told me,' she said with a nervous laugh. She seemed nice and pretty genuine. It was clear even from our short encounters so far that she was a very caring person and it was even clearer how much she loved Scott. 'Scott told me about your ability if that's what you were wondering.'

'Perfect,' I said under my breath. I seriously hoped he hadn't been blurting all my secrets to anyone else.

'I didn't quite believe it when he told me,' she continued.

'You gonna ask me to prove it?' I asked incredulously and she shook her head.

'No. After everything that's happened, I think I can believe that someone like you exists,' she replied. That was the sad truth.

I shifted on my feet feeling a little uncomfortable in the unfamiliar house. 'Can I get you a drink or anything?' Melissa asked and I was thankful for the change of subject.

'No thanks,' I replied. I made some humiliatingly pathetic excuse and made for the door to go back and sit in the car. Even that was better than being in here.

'Alex.' Melissa called me back and I turned around to see her outstretched hand, a small scrap of paper between her fingers. I took it with a frown, looking at the numbers scrawled across it questioningly. 'Given your situation, you might find it useful to have someone at the hospital you can call,' she explained warmly. 'You know, for emergencies.' I knew the type of emergencies she was referring to. It was the kind I had gotten myself in the night Violet had tried to kill Brett. It was the kind where the danger was the risk of exposing my ability, rather than getting hurt itself. She was right, this would be useful given my situation.

'Why are you being so nice to me?' I asked quietly, looking up to meet her eyes. They were filled with kindness and warmth, the kind I had never been looked at with by a mother. She shook her head at me with a small smile.

'You saved that boy, Brett, the other night,' she said, 'and I know you tried to help Sean too. Alex, you may not be a werewolf, but that doesn't mean you're not part of the pack.' I remained silent as I soaked in her words. I wasn't sure if I believed her words or not, but more importantly, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to be true.

'I don't understand it. How can you trust me so easily?' I asked genuinely curious.

'Because I know Scott trusts you,' she replied. 'And I trust my son.'

I sent her a small smile of gratitude as Kira emerged through a door followed by Scott. 'Are you ready to go?' she asked me. I nodded and after mumbling a goodbye to Scott and Melissa, I followed her out of the house to her car.

I had a strange feeling wash over me as we headed back to my apartment. It wasn't a bad feeling, though I wouldn't necessarily describe it as a good one either. It was just a feeling that somehow settled me. I might've even gone as far as the think I felt peaceful. Although I had started the day feeling irritated and angry, I felt only a small amount of these emotions now. But amongst that peaceful feeling there was something else that niggled at me, and I couldn't help but feel like I was in the moment of calm before a storm.

* * *

 **AN: Hello! Hope you liked it. This was a bit of a filler chapter but I felt it was kinda necessary.**

 **I've got the next chapter pretty much done so I will probably post it early this week (maybe tomorrow if you're lucky ;)**

 **Just wanted to say thanks to the guest who reviewed on Saturday, it made me really happy and spurred me on to get this chapter finished!**

 **Hope everyone had good weekends! Let me know what you thought x**


	15. Chapter 14 - A Thin Line

**Chapter 14, as promised ;)**

 **Enjoy! It's a bit of a long one x**

* * *

The fresh air flew by as I jogged down the small street. Although I technically didn't need to keep my fitness up, I always found running very therapeutic, especially since my muscles wouldn't tire as quickly as a normal human's would. I had been out for a few hours, just trying to clear my head after everything that had been happening for the past few weeks. It was hard though. These people I had encountered, people I had helped, argued with, been shot by and much more had somehow clambered into my mind and set up camp, and I couldn't see them going away anytime soon. As much as I hated to admit it, they had affected me, and that wasn't going to just go away.

I finished up my run at the end of the road leading to my apartment building and walked the rest of the way back. As soon as I was through the door I headed straight for the shower to wash up, before getting dressed into proper clothes for the day.

However, when I walked to the kitchen, I noticed my phone on the counter that I had forgotten to take with me on my run. The screen was bright, and I frowned at it when I discovered I had 13 missed calls: 3 from an unknown number, 2 from Melissa McCall and 8 from Derek. The last one really caused me to worry. Derek would never phone unless there was an emergency. Before I had a chance to call anyone back, my phone lit up again, the words _Derek Hale_ scrawled across the screen.

'Derek,' I greeted urgently, worried about what could have happened, 'what's going on?'

'Where the hell have you been!?' he practically yelled down the phone his voice laced with anger but most of all worry.

'Sorry, I went out. Left my phone at home,' I explained.

He sighed on the other end of the line, and I could tell he was rolling his eyes at my stupidity. 'We're at the morgue, can you meet us there?' he asked after a beat and my eyebrows shot right up.

'The morgue? What happened?' I asked frantically, images of people I really hoped were not in the morgue running through my head.

'I'll explain when you get here, okay?' he asked and I nodded before realising he couldn't see me.

'I'm on my way,' I said, grabbing my keys before hurtling myself out of the door.

* * *

When Derek said ' _we're_ at the morgue' I was expecting the usual crowd of Scott, Stiles, Lydia and possibly the Sherriff to be there, but as I entered the door to the morgue, it was definitely not the usual crowd that greeted me.

Melissa and Dr Deaton where there, as well as Derek of course, but that wasn't what startled me. What did was the man, no werewolf, who was lying dead on the metal table in front of me, not to mention the woman standing sadly over him who I had never seen before.

As I entered the room, all eyes turned to me and I nodded my head to them in greeting before meeting Derek's eyes. He looked extremely worried, along with the rest of them, but something like relief flooded through him when he saw I had arrived. He walked over to me from across the room and filled me in on all that had happened whilst I was gone. Apparently, there had been an outbreak of some kind of virus at the school where Scott, Stiles, Malia and Kira were taking the PSATs. The virus had killed all but one of Satomi's pack simultaneously, the one being the man on the table who had died only an hour or so ago. The woman, standing over the body, was Satomi herself. I thanked Derek for filling me in, before turning back to the group to listen to what Deaton was saying.

'It's a variant of canine distemper. A few years ago, an outbreak in Yellowstone killed 40% of the wolf population,' Deaton explained, not causing me to feel any better about the situation.

'What's it going to do to our wolf population?' Melissa asked, clearly scared for her son.

'Well, it's been altered to infect quite a bit faster,' Deaton said.

'You mean it's been weaponized?' Derek asked.

'It infected my whole pack,' Satomi said sadly, and I felt bad for her. Losing her whole pack like that must have been awful.

'Everyone except for you,' Deaton said. 'That's the real question. Did you not get infected? Or are you immune?'

'That's not the only question,' I said, my voice causing everyone to turn to me. 'You said it killed 40% of the wolf population before,' I continued, my words directed at Deaton.

'Yes?'

'Well what about other supernatural creatures? Does it affect them in the same way?' I asked, and I could see the penny dropping in all of their faces.

'Kira and Malia,' Melissa said in horror.

'And Kira's dad,' Derek said. We stood there for a second in silence, no one knowing what to say.

'I've gotta get to the school,' I said, realisation hitting me that I was the only one who may survive this epidemic.

'I'll drive you,' Derek said as he made for the door.

'No,' I said, stopping him in his tracks. 'You're on that list too remember, you're as bigger target as anyone.'

'So are you,' he said, quiet and urgent.

'Yeah, but the virus… it can kill you, but it won't kill me,' I said, determination in my voice. Derek nodded in understanding, reluctantly stepping away from the door as I sprinted out of the morgue and to the school.

* * *

It was chaos when I arrived. They had the school under quarantine, so no one could get in or out. I found Lydia and the Sherriff near the entrance, both looking as worried as I felt. As I approached them, an officer held me back, even though I protested as hard as I could.

'Stilinski,' I yelled, hoping to catch his attention. He whirled around, looking confused and relieved when he saw me.

'She's okay,' he said to the officer and he let me past.

'The virus,' I said as I jogged up to them, 'it's specifically designed to target werewolves, and maybe more,' I explained.

'That's not good,' the Sherriff said. 'Is there a possibility of an antidote?'

'Deaton's working on it,' I said, but the Sherriff still looked incredibly concerned. 'What? What is it?' I asked, eyeing the two carefully.

'We might be running out of time,' the Sherriff said urgently. 'Lydia says someone is going to die, and it's not just a feeling.'

I closed my eyes as my heart thumped rapidly in my chest. The adrenaline I was feeling at that moment was more than I had felt in a while. I realised I needed to do something, and fast, otherwise people were going to die.

'Do you think you can get me inside?' I asked the Sherriff and he raised his eyebrows at me, ready to protest.

'I think that's a very stupid idea,' he said and I looked at him with pleading eyes.

'I'll be okay, I can heal, remember? The virus won't affect me.'

'Are you sure?' he asked and I nodded, though I didn't know if that was the truth.

* * *

I ran down the school corridor looking for any signs of the others. After persuading the Sherriff to help me get into the building, he had managed to distract one of the C.D.C Doctors for long enough to allow me to sneak past them and into the school.

Suddenly, a figure came out of nowhere and we smacked into each other, causing us both to fall backwards, though not very hard.

'Alex?' the familiar voice of Stiles questioned and I looked over to him with a small smile. We hadn't spoken at all since our argument almost a week ago and it certainly felt like I was the last person he wanted to see.

'Hi,' I said awkwardly, before realising this was stupid; there were a lot of things going on that were more important than a silly argument, and I hoped Stiles felt the same way. 'Where are the others?'

'They're in the Hale vault under the school, but won't be for much longer unless we can find a way to save them,' he said, and it was only then that I noticed how anxious and frightened he was.

'Okay, do you have any ideas?' I asked, completely lost for any myself.

'Coach, he was the only adult that got sick,' he said. 'That's gotta mean something, right?' I nodded.

'We should check out his office,' I suggested, and Stiles agreed before we ran down the hall.

Once we got there, Stiles began to take the place apart. He started with the filing cabinet, pulling all the draws out of it and tossing them onto the floor. When he couldn't find anything, he began on the desk, frantically pulling out papers and getting frustrated when he couldn't find anything. He was breathing heavily now, as if he was a werewolf on a full moon.

'Dammit!' he yelled, slamming a fist down on the desk in anger.

'Stiles, it's gonna be okay,' I said, trying but failing to comfort the teen who looked like he might have a panic attack. I wasn't the comforting type and I think my attempts aggravated him more than soothe him. Now that I thought about it, he didn't look well, and I recalled Deaton saying it was designed to kill werewolves, but that didn't mean it didn't affect humans.

'How can you say that?' he yelled at me, tears starting to prick in his eyes as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

'Stiles, we're gonna help them okay, just calm down,' I said, trying to soothe him, but it only intensified his anger and worry.

'Calm down?' Sorry Alex, but unlike you I actually care about my friends so I'm not just going to calm down!' he said, rising from his positing at the desk. His words stung, but I knew he only said them because he was worried for his friends.

'Hey! I care about them too, okay?' I shouted back, only realising what I had said after the words had left my mouth. It was true though, I did care about them. I wasn't going to let any of them die. 'This is stupid, let's just stop arguing and figure out how we're going to help them,' I said and Stiles nodded. 'Stay here, I'll go check the locker room.'

I turned on my heel and headed into the boy's locker room. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I felt like I needed to give Stiles some space; we didn't need to waste any more time with another heated argument.

Not before long I heard a crash coming from the office that sounded like something breaking. I straightened up and tentatively walked towards the door.

'Stiles…' I called, but it came out strangled and quiet. I watched at Stiles appeared at the door, an unreadable expression on his face as he slowly walked towards me. 'Stiles, what's going…' I started, but held my tongue when I saw who was behind him. I stumbled back a few feet at the sight of him, one of two people who could cause actual terror to well up inside of me, and not just because he had a gun in his hand.

'Ah, Alexia,' he said smugly, walking towards me, forcing Stiles to do the same. 'I was wondering when I might run into you.'

'You know him?' Stiles asked, brow furrowed.

'Alexia and I are old friends,' he said, a morbid smile on his face that caused my stomach to churn.

'Stay away from me, you son of a bitch,' I managed to choke out as I tried to maintain some composure.

'Now, now, Alexia,' he warned, 'I've been tracking your movements for a while now. Did you enjoy the little gift I sent you a few weeks ago?'

Then it all clicked in my head. 'The Deputy with the cyanide… that was you?' I asked fearfully. I was met with the loud laugh of an insane man.

'Could someone please explain to me what's going on,' Stiles asked, still with the pistol pressed to his back, 'who is he?' His question was directed at me, but the man with the gun was the one to answer.

'She doesn't know my real name,' the man laughed, 'only the name I go by: The Chemist.' I looked at the ground, feeling ashamed that I had managed to get Stiles tangled up in this mess. If something happened to him now, I would never forgive myself. 'I have great plans for you, Alexia, but right now I need the help of your friend. Tell me where they are, Mr Stilinski,' he ordered.

Stiles stepped further towards me and turned around, so that he was facing the attacker. The gun was pointed right at Stiles' chest, a finger on the trigger. If he were to shoot now, the likelihood of Stiles making it out alive was very slim.

'I think I saw them in the library. Or it might've been the cafeteria. It was definitely one of those two,' Stiles said, refusing to give up the location of his friends. The Chemist looked pissed by his answer, and before I knew what was happening, he had shifted the aim of the gun to me and fired.

I hit the ground with a thud as my chest exploded in pain. Unlike before, when Peter had shot me, the bullet didn't do straight through, and I could feel it lodged in the back of my rib cage having ripped through my right lung.

'Alex!' Stiles screamed as he tried to bend down to help me, only to stop himself when the barrel of the gun was sent in his direction once again.

'It's okay, Stiles, I'm okay,' I assured him as I spit out a mouthful of blood. I was healing already, but the bullet still stuck inside of me which did make things a whole lot more complicated.

'We're going to try this again, Mr Stilinski,' The Chemist said in a much more serious voice. 'Tell me where your friends are.'

'I don't know,' Stiles said shakily, and the sound of another gunshot rang through my ears as another bullet was sent into my chest. I screamed in pain, and as much as I wanted to try and remain strong for Stiles, I couldn't for much longer. That one really hurt. 'Stop! Please, just stop hurting her!'

'I will, as soon as you tell me where your friends are,' he said, cocking the weapon in my direction, ready to fire again.

'Don't Stiles,' I said shakily, each word making my chest hurt even more as I spat out another mouthful of blood. 'He can't kill me, so don't tell him anything.'

The Chemist laughed again, a cold, emotionless laugh that haunted me every day. 'That's right, I can't kill you,' he said as he bent down, getting right in my face, 'we both know I can do a lot worse.' His words caused me to whimper as I closed my eyes, begging for this to be a nightmare and not real life. 'But I can kill your friends,' he taunted me, and my eyes snapped open so I could glare at him with watery eyes.

'Shut up,' I said through gritted teeth, causing him to laugh again.

'Remember your friend Dylan? I killed him,' he said as he continued to laugh.

'Shut up!' I yelled at him from my defenceless position on the floor as tears began to pool in my eyes. His words about Dylan ripped through me and I felt so much rage that I wanted to scream. I hated this man so much. I wanted him dead.

He stood up, kicking me a few times in the ribs, causing my ribcage to shatter. He knew all too well how much damage I could heal from, and this was nothing compared to some of the things I had gone through in the time I had spent under his watch.

'Stiles,' I breathed out as I saw The Chemist raise his gun to his face. 'Get out of here,' I said, struggling to get the words out. 'He's gonna kill you, you have to get out.' I choked on the blood pooling in my mouth, but hoped Stiles could still make out everything I had said.

'I'm going to count to three, and then I'm going to kill you,' he told Stiles, and I shouted for him to run again, though he took no notice.

'Think you can scare me?' Stiles said, and I was surprised at how confident he sounded, though the fear in his voice was still evident.

'No, I think I can kill you. I just thought the countdown would make it more exciting.'

'Stiles run!' I screamed with my growing amount of energy as I healed.

'I'm not leaving you!' he yelled, and I sobbed into the ground that was soaked in my blood.

'Dammit Stiles, run!' I screamed with all the energy I could muster, and I thought back to the night I had been taken, how Dylan had screamed for me to run and I hadn't listened. Before I could scream again, The Chemist had sent another bullet in my direction, causing me to shut up. I had lost all my energy now, my vision starting to blur.

I heard him start to count as he raised the gun so it was pressing against Stiles' head, I closed my eyes tightly shut, not wanting to witness the teens death, and waited for the sound of a gunshot. For a few seconds it was dead silent, before the sound of a gunshot rang through the locker room. My watery eyes snapped open as a body fell to the floor, though to my relief it wasn't Stiles. At the other end of the locker room stood Agent McCall, a man I had despised up until this point, with a gun in his hand.

'Where the hell did you come from?' Stiles said, the fear of almost being shot still jolting through him.

'Stiles, listen. I got a call from Melissa. I don't know what it means. She said there's an antidote. It's in a vault, reishi mushrooms,' McCall said urgently, and although I hadn't a clue what he was on about, the word antidote stood out to me as a good sign.

'Wait, what in a vault?' Stiles asked, still reeling from what had just happened.

'It's in a jar on one of the shelves. She said to tell Scott, it's in the vault,' said, before Stiles nodded and started to turn away.

'What about Alex?' he said, looking over to me. I was still lying on the floor but rapidly healing. I discreetly spat out a bullet that had arrived in my mouth, and it bounced along the floor.

'She needs medical attention immediately; I'll take care of it.' Stiles looked to me and I nodded, telling him it was okay for him to go, he needed to save his friends. He sprinted out of the locker room as Agent McCall ran over to me, pulling a towel off one of the shelves and holding it to the worst of my wounds. 'Alex, isn't it?' he asked and I nodded. 'I need you to hold this here for me, can you do that?' he said, bringing my hands to the towel and pressing them on it. He brought out a cell phone and my eyes widened, realising what he was about to do.

'You don't need to do that,' I said. I couldn't go to hospital. I thought about my family limited options until a good one slapped me in the face. 'Call Melissa,' I said with pleading eyes.

'How is that going to help you right now? You need to go to hospital,' he said, sounding worried for my condition, but I knew better.

'She can help me, please call her,' I begged, and he reluctantly nodded. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled the number.

'Melissa,' he greeted as she answered the phone. 'I've got a nineteen-year-old female with three gunshot wounds to the chest who is insisting that you can help her,' he said, looking stressed out by the situation. I couldn't blame him; he had just killed a guy. 'Okay,' he said after a while and hung up the phone. 'She said she can meet us outside,' he said as he ran a hand through his hair. 'Do you think you can stand?' he asked and I nodded.

I slowly stood up, making sure to keep the towel covering my wounds that were likely to be nearly gone by now. He put an arm around my waist as he helped me walk to the carpark. I tried to lean on him as much as possible, to show I needed his help, even though I would have been able to walk fine by myself.

We met the Sherriff on the way to the carpark, who told Agent McCall that he would make sure I was driven to the hospital. Once we were outside, I found Melissa, who insisted on driving me to the hospital even though I didn't need to go. I did, however, need someone to cut the bullet out of my back, and Melissa agreed she would help me as long as I went with her.

Just as we were about to take off, she received a phone call. 'That was Scott,' she said after hanging up. 'He said they are all fine, the antidote worked.' She had a small smile on her face, indicating her relief and joy in the fact that Scott and the others were okay.

* * *

I pulled the clean t-shirt over my head as I stood in the hospital room. The once burst open and bloo'died skin now lay flat and smooth across my body without a single trace of any scar. Once Melissa and I had arrived here about an hour ago, she had booked me in as a real patient and managed to get the bullet out. It was safe to say that I was feeling much better, though I had yet to see Stiles again since I had almost gotten him killed.

'Alex,' a voice said and I turned around to face the teen.

'Stiles,' I said as he approached me. 'You idiot, what were you thinking, you could have gotten yourself killed!' I scolded him as I shook my head. 'I told you to run!' I yelled in anger, but most of all fear about what could have happened to him. To my surprise, he didn't stop his movements towards me and suddenly, he threw his arms around me, enveloping me in a tight hug.

It took me a moment to process what was happening. Was he really giving me a hug? I wondered what I could have done to deserve such a gesture, and then I realised. I realised why I was so angry with him for staying with me when I told him to run. It was because he was my friend, and I was only now realising just how much I cared about him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him back, before he released me from his grip.

'I'm sorry, I know you said to run but I…' he said, starting to choke up. 'I couldn't leave you with that jackass after you told me what he did to you.'

'It's okay, Stiles,' I said, 'I just never would have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you.'

'Fine,' he said with a small smile, 'next time you tell me to run I will,' he said as a cheeky smile grew on his lips, 'but only if you promise to let us help you with whatever's going on with you,' he explained, a sudden serious look rushing through his eyes. 'No more secrets?' he said as he held out a hand for me to shake.

I sighed, a small smile growing on my lips too. I took his hand in mine and gave it a firm shake, 'no more secrets.'

'Hey, you never did tell me how you managed to escape him?' he asked and I tensed, 'you know, when he tortured you and stuff.' I grimaced at his words.

'That's not really important,' I said trying to brush his question aside.

'Hey, didn't we say no more secrets?' he said, his voice taking on a more serious tone.

'I will tell you,' I said sincerely, 'just not right now.' He looked like he wanted to protest but I cut him off. 'Right now, you need to go home and get some rest, okay?'

'Yeah, okay,' he said as he scratched behind his ear.

'I'll see you tomorrow or something?' I asked.

'Yeah,' he said, though he sounded absentminded.

'Stiles?' I asked quietly, 'are you going to be okay?'

He nodded as he swallowed thickly, 'yeah, I'll be fine.' With that he turned around and headed out of the hospital door.

I sighed, turning around myself to pack up my things, though there weren't many of them. I found my car keys in the pocket of my jeans and took them out, ready to go home for a good shower.

'What do you plan on doing with those?' the familiar voice of Derek Hale asked in an amused tone. It was then that I realised that my car was still at the school, a place it had spent too many nights over the course of the last few weeks.

'Nothing, evidently,' I said with an annoyed huff as I jammed the keys back in my pocket and turned to face the wolf. He was casually leaning against the wall of my hospital room, a small smile on his lips. 'So are you gonna offer to drive me home or are you gonna make me beg?' I asked him with an innocent look, hoping he would go for the first option.

'You know, for an immortal, you have an alarmingly strong death wish,' he mused, fiddling with the edge of a wall poster that was peeling off. His response surprised me.

'What's that supposed to mean?' I asked with raised eyebrows.

'That guy who sent the cop after you might be dead, but that doesn't mean there aren't others still after you,' he said, his voice taking on a serious tone.

'I know that,' I said solemnly.

'They know where you live, and now The Chemist, or whatever he's called is dead, they might come looking for revenge,' he said, and his reasoning was as much infuriating as it was logical. 'You can't go home.'

'So what do you suggest I do? Live on the streets until this all blows over?' I asked sarcastically, getting a little irritated at all his doom and gloom talk.

He looked to his feet for a second, then meeting my eyes, before looking away again. 'You can stay at my place tonight,' he said, as he opened the hospital room door.

I was completely floored by his offer, and I almost laughed. Didn't we hate each other? I guess there's a thin line between love and hate. He held the door open for me as I walked out with my stuff draped over one arm.

'Careful Hale,' I said with a smirk, 'people might start to think you actually care about me.'

He rolled his eyes at my remark and shook his head at our childish squabbling. 'You wish.'

* * *

 **AN: Hope you liked it! This was a fun one to right, maily because of the ending. What has been everyone's fave parts of the story so far?**

 **So Alex and Stiles are friends again and I guess Derek doesn't hate her as much as she first thought.**

 **I've actually pretty much finished writing all the chapters for this story so updates should be pretty quick from now on - only editing and stuff to go now!**

 **Also, I reached 50 followers earlier today which I was SUPER happy about so thanks to everyone who follows/favourites/reviews this story. Glad you are enjoying it!**

 **Anyway, that was a bit of a long AN, sorry! Let me know what you guys think of this chapter! What do you think is in store for Alex over the next few chapters? x**


	16. Chapter 15 - Kill Confirmed

I rolled over for probably the seventh time in the last ten minutes. Derek had insisted that he sleep on the couch and that I take the bed, even after I explained to him that I didn't need to sleep. His argument was that my personality was probably affected by my lack of sleep, and that it was a likely reason that could explain my hostile personality. Of course, this was completely ridiculous, and to wipe the smirk off his face I had agreed to take the bed, go to sleep and prove that my personality was nothing to do with my lack of sleep. Now that I thought about it, I realised that I was basically trying to prove to him that I was, at heart, a horrible person, and no change in environmental factors, such as getting more sleep, was going to change that.

So there I was, lying in his bed as he slept on the couch, with nothing but planning arguments with him in my head to keep me occupied – I was likely going insane. I quietly rolled out of bed, dressed only in a far too large t-shirt he had lent me and a pair of my pyjama shorts. The loft was pretty cool actually, better than I had remembered, but then again, last time I was here I had just been shot in the head twice and wasn't in the best of moods.

I tiptoed over to the couch where Derek was sleeping and watched him for a moment, making sure he was definitely asleep.

Something had caught my attention last night before he went to bed. He had been clutching his side a little too often for my liking, and when I had brushed past him on the stares, he had winced in pain, though he had tried to hide it from me. Once I was satisfied that he was asleep, I reached down and took the bottom of his t-shirt in one hand and slowly pulled it up. My suspicions were clarified was I saw what looked to be a big fat gunshot wound in his side. It showed no sign of healing, not even just a little bit.

Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed the hand I was using to lift up his shirt. _Busted._

'What are you doing?' he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

'Making sure you're not gonna die in your sleep,' I said as I yanked my hand out of his.

'Hmm,' he replied as if he didn't quite believe me.

'You're not healing,' I said, furrowing my brow.

'Some wounds take longer to heal,' he said, dismissing my concern.

'And some leave scars. But not for people like us,' I said, worry clear in my voice.

'Careful, people might start to think you care about me,' he said with a smirk, echoing my words from the night before. I shot him an unimpressed look.

'What's going on?' I asked him, hoping he would tell me the truth.

'Nothing, I'm just tired,' he dismissed again as he turned away from me to face the couch.

'Show me your eyes,' I said, and he visibly tensed, even if it was just for a second.

'You just saw them,' he replied, still facing away from me and I rolled my own.

'You know what I mean,' I said exasperatedly. He hesitantly turned over so he was looking at the ceiling before he glanced over at me, his eye remaining the same piercing green they had always been. 'Okay,' I said with a sigh, wondering what to say next. 'So it's gotten worse,' I said, deciding to start simple before getting into all the complex stuff.

'Yeah,' he said, looking as if he felt useless.

'You wanna talk about it?' I asked, not really sure how to make him feel better.

'Not really,' he said, moving into a sitting position. He groaned as he did, holding onto his side in pain.

'Do you have a first aid kit?' I asked and he sighed deeply again.

'In the bathroom,' he said and I nodded, 'second door on the left.'

I followed his instructions down the hall and into the bathroom. I opened the cabinet under the sink to find a small box containing a few gauze pads and bandages. It was hardly a first aid kit, but better than nothing.

I returned to find him already standing by the table, rubbing his eyes and yawning. I wondered if maybe he was just tired, but quickly dismissed the idea.

'Take your shirt off,' I said and he made no effort to move, just raised his eyebrows at me as he smirked in amusement. 'Are you just gonna stand there smirking like an idiot or are you gonna let me help you?' I asked, showing how I wasn't fazed by his stupid teasing or whatever it was he was trying to do. Still with an amused expression, he slipped his shirt over his head to reveal the wound, as well as a pretty much perfect physique I decided to just pretend wasn't there.

I focused solely on the task of dressing his wound, trying to ignore him as he looked at me.

'You're staring,' I said, not taking my eyes off of his wound.

'Sorry,' he said softly, and I felt his gaze shift from me to the wound. Then back to me. 'How does someone like you exist?' he mused. I wasn't sure if the comment was supposed to hurt me in some way or not, so I just took it at face value: a fair, yet complicated question.

'I'd like to know the answer to that myself,' I said, still not meeting his eyes. 'It's just a graze,' I told him as I stood up, reaching for a gauze to dress the wound.

'So, do you think I'll live?' he said, trying to make a joke, but it fell flat.

'This time,' I replied, a warning tone to my voice. 'This isn't a joke, Derek. You have got to be more careful.'

'I know,' Derek sighed, 'And I will be.' I quickly dressed the wound with a gauze pad and surgical tape before telling him I was done. 'Thanks,' he mumbled before turning around and reaching for his shirt. When his back was to me, I could see that he had a large black tattoo in the centre of his back.

'What's with the triskelion?' I asked out of interest more than anything else.

'It symbolizes the possibility that any wolf can rise or fall to any status,' Derek said as he pulled the shirt over his head.

'Like Alpha, Beta, Omega?' I asked as he walked over to the couch and sat down. I followed him over and took a seat next to him.

'Yeah,' he replied, and something in his voice made me think that he knew all too well how a werewolf could rise or fall to any status.

'Those eyes have been on quite a journey, huh Hale?' I remarked quietly as I looked at him. He was staring at me with such a look on his face that told me I was spot on. 'Go back to sleep,' I told him as I lazily walked over to the bed, 'you look like you need it.'

* * *

 _'_ _Go! Alex, get out of here!' Dylan screamed at me as more and more of them swarmed into the apartment building._

 _'_ _No Dylan! I'm not leaving without you!' I screamed back at him as he took a handgun out of his belt and checked to make sure it was loaded._

 _'_ _There's too many of them to hold off, you have to go now,' he said to me seriously._

 _'_ _I can't! Dylan, I'm scared,' I said as tears began to fall from my eyes. He ran over to me and enveloped me in a tight hug as I sobbed into his chest._

 _'_ _It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay,' he soothed, pressing his face into my hair as if he knew that if he ever let go, he would never see me again._

 _Suddenly the door burst open and ten or so fully armoured men ran into the room. They dragged Dylan away from me as he tried to fight them, using his skills as a hunter to fight a few of them off, but there were too many. I tried to remember all the things Dylan had told me about combat tactics, but in that moment, I was completely frozen as they fought with Dylan, hitting and kicking him to the ground until I wasn't sure if he was conscious or not._

 _I screamed for him to respond, and he looked at me out of a black eye. 'Alex!' he screamed with all the energy he had left, 'get out of here! Run!'_

 _Suddenly the room went completely dark, and I would have thought I was alone had it not been for Dylan's screams as he begged me to save myself. Then the screaming stopped and I was met with complete silence. The lights flashed on, but I was no longer in my old apartment that I shared with Dylan. I was back in the locker room with Stiles and The Chemist, only Stiles wasn't Stiles, he was Dylan. The Chemist had his gun pressed to Dylan's head, and I was on the ground, injured and helpless._

 _This time it was me shouting for Dylan to run, but he didn't listen. He stayed where he was, just like Stiles had, as The Chemist counted to three and pulled the trigger. I watched as Dylan's lifeless body fell to the ground with a heavy thump before I screamed._

* * *

I gasped loudly as I woke from my nightmare and panicked before I realised where I was. Derek was standing over me as I lay on the bed, concern written across his face

'You okay?' he asked hesitantly as he reached out to touch my arm. I nodded quickly, swatting his hand away before he could attempt to comfort me.

'I'm good,' I said, before sliding out of the bed to get a glass of water. He still didn't look convinced and I recalled an incident similar to this a few weeks ago which had occurred in Stiles' sitting room. 'Was I screaming or something?' I asked him, hoping that he didn't think I was completely insane.

'Screaming? No, just shaking quite a bit. And mumbling something about a guy called Dylan,' he said, looking confused.

'See, this is why I told you that sleeping wasn't a good idea,' I told him, heading to the bathroom for my glass of water. He followed me down the hall much to my annoyance.

'So you're saying that it's not a good idea because you sleep talk?' he said.

'Well, when you put it like that it sounds stupid,' I said, rolling my eyes at him.

'That's because it is stupid.'

'Did I ask for your opinion?' I shot back quickly, causing him to chuckle. Just then, my phone started to ring, and I pushed passed the wolf to answer it. It was Scott.

'Hey Scott, what's up?' I asked, more upbeat and cheery than usual which caused Derek to raise his eyebrows at me and then me to throw a pillow at him which he dodged, much to my annoyance.

'Hey, we kinda need your help with something,' Scott said down the phone. 'Can you meet us at Kira's house?'

'Yeah, sure,' I replied to the alpha, 'text me the address?'

'Sure, see you in a bit,' he replied before hanging up.

'I gotta go meet Scott,' I told Derek as I threw my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. 'Can you give me a ride to the school?' I asked, realising I needed to pick up my car. He agreed and when we were both ready, we took off towards the school.

* * *

'Are you guys totally sure about this?' Liam asked at we crowded around Scott who was lying on Kira's bed. As a new plan for catching The Benefactor, Scott had decided to play martyr and pretend to be dead, hoping this would lure The Benefactor in as he would need visual conformation of Scott's death. Kira, as a thunder Kitsune, was going to slow Scott's heart down so it was beating so slowly that it would seem like he was dead. All in all, the plan sucked, and I think we all knew it.

'I think Liam's kind of nervous. Maybe you should tell him it's going to be all right,' Kira said to Scott, looking very nervous herself.

'It's going to be all right,' Scott told Kira, though I wasn't totally convinced.

'So, you've done this before, right? I asked Ms Yukimura, Kira's mum, the concern for the alpha growing more and more as the conversation continued.

'I've seen it done,' she replied, not making me feel any better about the situation.

'Is that just as good? Liam asked hopefully.

'No,' Ms Yukimura replied bluntly.

'Mom, you're not inspiring confidence,' Kira said to her mother.

'Good. This is a terrible idea,' she replied, and I had to agree with her.

'She's right, Scott, this is a really bad idea,' I said, trying to get him to see some sense. 'Can't you just let me do it instead? We're worth the same amount, and it's a lot less risky,' I explained, hoping he would agree.

'No, I don't want you risking anything,' he told me, but that didn't satisfy me at all. 'You can do this, I know you can,' he told Kira and she smiled nervously at him. 'Okay, let's do this.'

'Put your hand over his heart,' Ms Yukimura instructed Kira to do. Just as she was about to do it, Scott sat up.

'Hold on. What happens while I'm out? Am I gonna feel anything?' he asked. It was a fair enough question. He looked to me first, and I wasn't sure how to answer.

'Well, when I'm dead, I'm actually dead. I don't feel anything,' I explained. 'But you… you won't actually be dead, your heart will still be beating, just really slowly, so it could be different for you.'

'It might feel like you're dreaming,' Ms Yukimura said.

'Good dreams or bad?' Scott asked.

'I suppose that depends on you,' she replied. Kira then put her hand over Scott's heart. It gradually began to slow down as Scott gasped for breath, before falling 'dead' on the bed.

* * *

We had gathered at the hospital after Scott had been taken in an ambulance. They had pronounced him dead after several sets of CPR and we were now waiting in the morgue with his body for his mother to arrive.

The door swung open to reveal a teary eyed Melissa. She made her was over to the table on which Scott was laid and took a few deep breaths. 'I still hate this plan,' she said, echoing my thoughts exactly. 'I mean this is pretty significantly terrifyingly. He looks dead.'

'Give me your hand,' Ms Yukimura said and Melissa hesitantly complied. She pulled her hand so that it was resting on Scott's chest, right above his heart. 'Wait for it,' she said, before Melissa suddenly released a terrified, but relieved breath. She had felt his heart beat.

'Is that enough to keep a werewolf alive?' she asked.

'Enough for an Alpha,' Ms Yukimura replied.

'How much time do we have?' Melissa asked, a worried look still on her face.

'Forty-five minutes.'

'What happens after that?'

'I bring him back the same way,' Kira replied, looking sceptical at her own abilities.

'No, I mean what happens if he stays like this longer than forty-five minutes?' she asked, and everyone in the know looked at the ground, no one wanting to answer her question.

'No one's told her?' Ms Yukimura asked.

'What? What happens after forty-five minutes?' Melissa asked, looking terrified.

'He dies,' Ms Yukimura replied.

There was a moment of silence before I decided to speak up. 'That's not our only problem,' I said, and all eyes turned to me with questioning looks. 'What if The Benefactor doesn't get here in the next forty-five minutes? We may need more time.'

'We can't have more time,' Melissa said, 'any longer and he'll be dead.'

'But what if Scott wasn't the only one who was dead?' I asked, hoping they would all catch on.

'Are you volunteering?' Stiles asked, obviously not wanting another one of his friends to be 'dead' for any length of time. I sighed heavily before turning to Melissa.

'Did you bring it?' I asked and she nodded morbidly. She slowly reached into her bag and brought out the large kitchen knife I had asked her to bring via a text message. It certainly looked lethal. I took it from her with a quiet 'thanks' before resting it on the table next to Scott.

'If I get stabbed with this right here,' I said pointing to the back of my neck at the base of my skull, 'I'll be dead for however long you need.' I explained, hoping they would agree.

'I thought you said you can't stay dead for long?' Stiles asked.

'This is the exception. If this stays in,' I continued pointing to the knife, 'I stay dead. As soon as it's out, I'm back. You can bring Scott back after forty-five minutes, but you don't have to bring me back.'

'That weirdly sounds like a good plan,' Kira said, obviously still anxious about Scott. 'But how do you know it will work?'

'Because I've done it before.'

* * *

'Just remember to leave it in, okay?' I told Stiles. The others had all gone now and all that was left to do was for Stiles to kill me, which was easier said than done. He was very reluctant to do it which wasn't surprising considering I was basically forcing him to stab me in the head. But there was something else wrong with him too, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

'What is up with you today?' I asked him with a frown, almost as if I was telling him off for acting so weird.

'Nothing, just a little nervous about _this_ ,' he said, flailing his hands around in front of him. I wasn't buying any of it.

'Stiles,' I warned, sending him a look which told him I knew he was lying.

He gave a long drawn out sigh before looking back at me. 'Malia found out,' he said and my eyebrows shot to the roof.

'You mean you didn't tell her?' I practically yelled at him.

'I was going to,' he said defensively, 'I just didn't know how.'

'Oh really, so 'Hey Malia, Peter Hale is your real dad' is so hard to say?' I said.

'Uh, I know, I screwed up,' he said, clearly mad at himself, 'I've gotta find a way to make it up to her.'

'You will,' I said, sending him a small smile, 'but right now, let's get back to business.' I heard Stiles groan loudly and I rolled my eyes at his childishness. 'All you have to do it hit this spot here,' I said as I gestured to the back of my neck where my head met my neck, 'and it should work.'

'Should?' Stiles questioned worriedly, 'what happens if it doesn't work?'

'Then its gonna hurt like a bitch and we'll have to do it again,' I explained, wishing he would just do it, we were running out of time. I handed him the large kitchen knife from Melissa, which he took from me with two fingers before wrapping his whole hand around the handle.

'How hard am I supposed to do this?' he asked, a disgusted look on his face.

'Pretty hard,' I told him, 'and make sure you angle the blade up a little, otherwise it'll just go in my neck.'

'Uh gross, okay,' Stiles said, wincing at my words as if he was the one getting stabbed in the head. He lifted up the knife, ready to swing it, but then brought it back down again with a shaky breath. 'Alex, I don't know if I can do this,' Stiles whined.

'Stiles, its fine, just think of it as like…' I paused, grasping for inspiration for encouraging words, 'like stabbing a piñata when you were a kid,' I settled for that analogy, thinking it was more or less the gist of what was about to happen. 'It's exactly the same.'

'Right, yeah, it is exactly the same,' Stiles said sarcastically, 'except for instead of candy falling out of your head, it will be blood and brain matter!'

'Would you just do it already!' I yelled, getting irritated by his dawdling, 'It's not that bad.'

'Easy for you to say,' he argued, 'I doubt you've ever had to _kill_ anybody.' His words hit me in a strange place and I suddenly found it hard to look him in the eye. 'Have you?' he asked, eyes wide with shock at the sudden revelation.

'Don't ask questions you don't wanna know the answers to, Stiles,' I told him sternly.

'Oh God,' he said, starting to whine again.

'Just do it!' I yelled at him and he started to groan in defeat, knowing he had to give in.

'Okay, okay,' he said, groaning louder as he raised the knife a fair distance from my neck so he could build up enough force. 'Okay, here we go!' His final sentence seemed to drag on forever as he swung the knife at me. I felt it pierce the skin on the back of my neck before I was plunged into the undeniable darkness of death.

* * *

 **AN: Dun dun dahhhhhh... hope you enjoyed that chapter!**

 **So as you might have guessed from some of the dialogue in this chapter, Braeden is not going to feature in this story. Sorry if you wanted her to be but I just think that with the story line and where I want it to go, it just doesn't work with Braeden in it. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have on this situation if you have any. Just thought I'd let you know in case you were confused.**

 **Anyways, let me know any thoughts you have on this chapter and have a good weekend! x**


	17. Chapter 16 - Post Mortem

The stillness and silence would have felt like it lasted for hours if only I'd had a concept of time. When I was in this state there was nothing. No light. Not even any darkness. Just an infinite amount of nothing. I was never aware of any of it though until the few seconds before I woke up. In that short space of time while my cells were regenerating, I was suddenly aware of how absent and alone I felt, and that was the worst part. Usually after I woke up from something like this I would imagine what it would be like to be stuck in that part for longer; I place where there was nothing but the realisation that there was nothing. A place where you could stare at death and know exactly what it was like but from the point of view of life. And what if that point never came? What would happen if you were stuck in the darkness with nothing, not even a subconscious thought, forever? Even then, as I found myself racing back to the land of the living, I wondered what it would be like to truly be dead.

My eyes snapped open as I gasped for air, the feeling of my lungs inflating mimicking that of a new born baby. I looked around wildly for a sense of where I was. How long had I been gone for?

'Alex,' I heard Stiles' voice from behind me as he held a phone to his ear, the other hand occupied with a large kitchen knife dripping with blood. My blood. I frowned at him as I sat up and he sent me a worried yet apologetic look. He groaned in annoyance when whoever he was calling didn't answer and hurried over to me.

'Stiles, what's going on? How long was I out?' I asked, hoping the plan had worked but not feeling confident that it had.

'Only about thirty minutes,' he said as I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to yell at him for waking me before Scott. 'How do you feel?' he asked as looked at me with concern. He had now dropped the large knife onto the floor and was helping me to stand up, a slightly nauseated look on his face.

'Okay I guess,' I said with a weak smile. It wasn't a lie, I felt absolutely fine, apart from the smell of death that was filling the morgue. 'Are you okay?'

'I guess,' he replied, 'apart from the nightmares I'm gonna be having for the next month!' he said and I chuckled. 'It's not funny!' he said seriously, shooting me a look that stopped my laughter. 'Don't ever make me do that again.' I nodded in agreement and he let out a somewhat relieved sigh. 'I'm gonna try Argent again,' he said as he took his phone out and dialled a number. 'Come on, Argent, answer the phone. Why are you not answering the phone?' he repeated into his mobile. I was about to ask him where the others were but I was interrupted by the double doors to the morgue flying open as a man was thrown through them. I recognised him from a few weeks ago. He was the hunter. Christ Argent.

'Stiles run,' he groaned as he looked up at the both of us, eyes widening a little when he noticed me, 'get out of here, both of you.' The doors opened again and in walked a woman I had never seen before. She had long blonde hair and was wearing all black. I would have told her I liked her boots had it not been for the bloodthirsty look in her eyes.

'Get out of the way, Stiles. I'm taking the body,' she snarled, barely giving me a second look as she stared down Stiles.

'Why? Visual confirmation?' Stiles guessed, causing the woman to laugh.

'Don't worry, handsome. I'm not The Benefactor,' she said with a smirk.

'Then what do you want with the body?' Chris asked, now standing in between Stiles and I in a protective stance to make sure Scott stayed safe.

'I wish I could tell you,' the woman said sarcastically. Argent lunged forward and brought a gun out of his belt, pressing the barrel to the woman's chin. Seeing him with it made me wish I still had mine. After my run in with the two deputies a few weeks ago, I never got it back, even after explaining to the Sherriff that it wasn't stolen. 'I always forget you carry two,' the woman snarled at Argent as they glared at each other.

'Back off!' Chris shouted, gun still at the woman's throat.

'You sure you can pull the trigger fast enough?' the woman threw back.

'I don't want to,' he replied, and through his anger, I could see he was telling the truth.

'You're not going to kill me,' she grinned evilly.

'I'm not going to let you take his body!' he yelled back

'Okay, well, obviously, you guys have a lot to talk about, so, maybe I saw some coffee, a vending machine outside,' Stiles said.

'Stiles,' I warned, not wanting him to get caught in the middle. 'Who is that?' I whispered to him.

'Kate Argent,' he mouthed back and my eyes widened. This was the woman who took Derek's power. 'Sister,' he mouthed to me again, pointing to Chris as realisation flooded over me.

'Listen to me, Kate. We have a plan,' Argent told her.

'If killing Scott was part of it, you're worse than me,' She replied, and I have to say that I was inclined to believe her.

'He's telling the truth,' Stiles interjected. 'We're trying to get to The Benefactor.'

'If you didn't notice, you're on that list too. And you're worth more than most,' Argent told his sister, hoping she would back down.

'That's why I'm here,' she replied.

'Then back off and let us do what we planned,' he practically begged. Kate moved Argent's wrist so she could take a glimpse at his watch. As she did I caught sight of it too. It read three minutes, and counting. 'Take the Berserkers, and go. Kate, please. We have a plan.'

* * *

We were all gathered around Scott in the morgue, Kira with her hand over his heart, trying to bring him back. We were all on edge from the carnage that had occurred in the hospital over the course of the last forty-five minutes.

Suddenly, Scott gasped for air with a loud groan and everyone in the room let out a breath of relief. He and Kira shared a short, but meaningful kiss before Scott sat up, looking wildly around at the rest of us.

'What happened?' he asked no one in particular, 'did it work?' Before anyone could answer, Liam burst through the doors, a morbid expression on his face.

'What?' Kira asked as we stared at the young beta.

'It's your mother,' he replied, 'she's hurt.'

Kira rushed out of the room with Liam, followed closely by Scott. The rest of us dispersed quickly, all feeling physically and emotionally drained.

'Chris,' I said quickly, just as the man was about to leave the room. He turned to look at me, the two of us the only ones left in the room. 'Your gun…' I started, feeling awkward about what I was about to ask, 'can I borrow it?'

He frowned in confusion at my request, but held it out for me to take nonetheless. I reached for it, but he held on as I tried to pull it from his grip. 'Do you even know how to use it?' he asked sceptically. He let me pull it from his hand then and I popped the clip out effortlessly, before sliding it back in and raising it in front of me and firing. A tiny glass jar on a shelf shattered into hundreds of tiny shards, the wall behind it now marked with a small hole. I smirked at him as I handed the gun back to him and he stared at me curiously. 'Where does a girl your age learn how to do that?' he asked.

'You're not the first hunter I've met,' I told him.

'Oh?' he said, 'who taught you that?'

'His name was Dylan Bristol. You know him?' I asked, and I noticed a small, but sad smile graced his lips.

'Yeah, I knew Dylan. Our paths crossed a couple of times. Dylan was one of the good ones,' he said.

'Yeah, he was,' I said with a sad smile. There was a long pause with nothing but silence filling it. 'I should get doing,' I replied as I made for the door.

'Alex,' Chris said and I turned to face him. He was holding out the weapon I had just used. 'Here, take it,' he said.

I took the gun from his hand with a nod of thanks, before we headed our separate ways. I clicked the safety on and put the weapon into the waistband of my jeans. Although I didn't know why yet, something told me I would be needing it very soon.

* * *

I was surprised to see Stiles standing in the hospital parking lot by his jeep when I exited the building. He seemed to be waiting for someone as he stood with his back against the bonnet of the vehicle.

'Stiles,' I called out to him as I jogged over. His head snapping in my direction when he heard my voice. 'I thought you'd gone home.'

'Yeah,' he said nervously and I raised my eyebrows at him. 'I just wanted to catch you before you left.'

'Look Stiles, I'm sorry I made you do it but there wasn't any other…'

'That's not what I wanted to talk to you about,' he said, cutting me off. I looked at him expectantly. 'You said you were gonna tell me about how you escaped Dr Psychopath, remember?' he said, and I rolled my eyes at the nickname. I realised that I would have to tell him the truth, though I knew it would only make thing a whole lot worse. I bit my lip.

'You know when I said _he_ was coming?' I asked, hoping he remembered our conversation many weeks ago.

'Yeah, I remember,' he said with a frown.

'Well, I wasn't talking about the Chemist,' I said, causing him to frown.

'Then who were you talking about?' I sighed, thinking of the best way to approach the subject.

'I was in the 'research' facility for just over 7 months. It was hell, every day worse than the day before.' I said, my eyes glazed over as I remembered. 'I honestly thought it would kill me, that one day, I would just stop being able to heel and then it would all be over – believe me I often wished I was dead.' I could see Stiles itching to ask a question but he remained silent, letting me tell the story.

'One day, the researchers never came to see us. It was unusual, they came every day, always. Turns out there had been a security breach,' I said.

' _He's_ the one who got you out?!' Stiles asked disbelievingly and I scoffed.

' _He_ didn't break into the facility to help me, Stiles. _He_ broke in to kill me,' I spat. 'Dylan had warned me about people like him, he called them Scavengers,' I explained.

'Scavengers? What does that mean?' Stiles asked.

'It means he has the ability to take power from any supernatural creature, like a hybrid of everything I guess, but he has to take it for himself,' I explained. 'Strength from a werewolf, prophecy from a banshee…'

'Healing from you,' Stiles said in realisation. I nodded, feeling a little terrified myself.

'He somehow knew I would be there, but he didn't realise that breaking in gave me a way out. When he broke down the security barrier I just ran. I guess the mountain ash didn't hold me like they'd hoped.'

'So that's how you got out,' Stiles said. 'What about everyone else? The werewolves and stuff?' I sighed, feeling suddenly guilty.

'In the news they said it was a gas leak, but it must have been to try and cover it up,' I said grimly.

'There was a fire?' Stiles asked and I nodded.

'There weren't any survivors,' I said. 'Except for the Chemist I guess.'

'I'm sorry,' Stiles said as he wrapped his arms around me shoulders, pulling me into a hug.

'Yeah, me too,' I replied. We pulled apart and I told him to go home, he needed to sleep. He reluctantly got into his jeep and drove away before I hopped into my car, trying my best not the let the memories of my past crush me.

* * *

I sat in my stationary car outside my apartment, the engine still running. Derek's warning about not staying at my apartment anymore was replaying over and over in my head and I couldn't bring myself to ignore it. I contemplated ringing Stiles, but I knew he had a lot going on with Malia right now and I didn't want to interrupt. Besides, hadn't I just told him he needed to go home and rest? My options were fairly limited, and as much as I hated to admit it, it wasn't completely awful staying at Derek's loft. I begrudgingly took my phone out and dialled the sour wolf's number, surprisingly relieved when he answered after the second ring.

'Alex,' he greeted. 'Everything alright?'

'Yeah, everything's fine,' I replied, trying not to sound as desperate as I was. 'Hey um… would it be completely overstaying my welcome if I crashed at your place again tonight?' I could almost hear him smile down the phone which settled my nerves completely about imposing on his home.

'See you in ten?' he asked and I couldn't help the grin that appeared on my face.

'See you in ten,' I replied before putting the car I gear and driving to the loft.

* * *

It was past eleven in the evening when I walked into the loft. I found Derek on the couch, already fast asleep, so I went straight to the bathroom to take a shower and change. When I walked back into the main room, Derek was now sitting up on the couch, a piece of paper in his hands which he was studying intently.

'Did I wake you?' I asked as I approached him. He looked up, as if only just noticing my presence.

'No, I was already up,' he replied, but I was sure he said that just to be kind.

'I met Kate today,' I said casually, plopping myself down on the coffee table in front of him.

'You did?' he asked, surprised.

'Yeah, she's a hoot,' I said sarcastically and he scoffed quietly. I noticed he was still engrossed in the piece of paper and I leant forward so I could read it. 'Let me see that,' I said as I snatched it out of his grasp. He huffed in annoyance but I took no notice as I scanned the list. It was a copy of the dead pool, the one with both our names on it. I frowned at it and looked up at him. His head was lowered so I couldn't see his eyes and he had a mannerism about him that said he was somewhat ashamed that I had caught him looking at it. I sighed. 'What are you doing with this?' I asked. He didn't reply and I gently folded up the piece of paper and rested it on the table.

'You know, most of the people on that list are dead,' he said finally, looking up to meet my eyes. There was something different about his, a hint of something that set me on edge. It was almost as if he was _scared_.

'Yeah,' I said soberly, struggling to find a point to this morbid conversation.

'Well doesn't that bother you? Any one of us could be next,' he said as he stood up and walked away from me. I wasn't really sure how to reply, so I stood up too and followed him into the middle of the room.

'Is that what you're worried about?' I asked softly.

'No, I just… that list is getting smaller every day, and I just think we should be doing more to be able to defend ourselves.' I had to agree with him, it could be any day that there would be another attempt on our lives, and although I wasn't worried for myself as such, I was worried for everyone else on that list, and those who may be caught in the crossfire.

'Is it because of what Kate did to you?' I asked, carefully choosing my words as to not overstep my mark. He shot me a pained look and I had my answer. 'Is it everything?'

'My speed, my healing, sense of smell… it's all gone,' he said as if he was reluctant to admit it.

'Strength?' I asked, and he smirked at me.

'I can still win a fight,' he said as if I was a fool to question his abilities.

'You sure about that?' I said as I approached him. I arrived at the position I would normally choose to stop at, a safe, normal distance away from a person, but I didn't stop moving. I slowly walked closer towards him a smirk growing on my lips.

Suddenly, I swung a fist at his face, which he dodged easily. Catching on to what I was doing, he threw a few at me too, which I blocked with one hand, before kicking his legs out from underneath him, causing him to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. I smirked down at him offering him a hand to help him up. He took it, and just when I was about to help him up, he yanked me down to the floor with him, rolling me over so that he was straddling my waist with my arms pinned to the floor. It was now his turn to look smug as I struggled pathetically beneath him to get free. 'You cheated,' I said, pouting a little at him as he continued to smirk. He released his grip on my wrists a little and I took the opportunity to punch him in the stomach. He cowered over and I pushed him off of me with a gleeful giggle.

We were now both standing up, fists at the ready like two boxers ready for a fight. I remembered being trained by Dylan, and by the end of a fairly hard core regime, I was a good match for him. 'Come on,' I said with a grin as I used my hands to beckon him closer, 'give it your best shot.'

He shook his head which a dry chuckle. 'I'm not gonna fight you,' he said.

'Why? Scared you're gonna lose to a girl?' I asked with a sly smile, teasing him. He laughed at my comment, but I could tell it had gotten under his skin. 'Come on, Hale, I don't bite.' At this he swung a fist clumsily at my face and I ducked out of the way quickly, chuckling at his feeble attempt. 'You can do better than that,' I said, a little more seriously as he swung two more at me, both missing the target. 'Spread your weight more evenly,' I told him, and watched as he adjusted accordingly.

I switched up the fight by becoming less defensive and more of an attacker, forcing him to try and block my advances. I kicked my right foot into his chest, sending him backwards a few feet, but he recovered quickly. 'Protect your centre line more,' I said, and again, he adjusted his stance. I kicked my leg out again, but this time her turned, my foot narrowly missing his stomach. 'Better,' I said, and he smiled through his heavy breathing.

I got closer to him so we were more face to face, and I made slower punches, taking his forearm in my hand and moving it into the correct position to block my fists. We gradually increased the speed until we were in a good rhythm, both of us taking it in terns to defend or attack. He then, unexpectedly caught one of my wrists in his hand, pulling me in further so I was pressed against his chest, my arms unable to move. I quickly kicked my feet up, using the table to jump over him, flipping my whole body over him, causing him to fall to the ground as he arms twisted over his head.

Now I was the one straddling his hips and I smirked down at him. 'I win,' I whispered teasingly and to my surprise, he didn't throw back a witty comment like I had anticipated. Instead, he continued to stare into my eyes as his hands moved from the floor to my waist, causing me to frown a little. He continued to look at me and I found my already racing heart speed up even faster. His hands snaked around me and I felt one of them touch the bare skin of my lower back, causing me to shiver. I suddenly realised what he was about to do but before I could act, he had grasped the handgun from the back of my jeans and had the cold barrel pressed into my stomach.

'You sure about that?' he said with a smirk and I couldn't help but laugh at my stupidity.

'Well played,' I said, and I meant it. I slowly clambered off of him and he got up, still with the gun pointed at me. 'Go ahead,' I told him, 'we both know I can take it.' He shook his head with another chuckle and offered the gun to me.

'I don't like guns,' he said and I raised an eyebrow at him.

'That's because you don't know how to use one,' I retorted and he sighed, rolling his eyes. Even still, he retracted his hand that held the weapon and readjusted it in this grip so that it was more comfortable.

'Something tells me I'm about to find out how to though,' he said, and I laughed.

'Staying alive isn't just about pulling the trigger at the right time. When you're facing an opponent with supernatural power, whether that's speed or strength or whatever, you've gotta be smarter,' I explained.

'Okay, and how exactly do I outsmart someone who's a trained killer?' Derek asked sceptically.

'When fighting experienced individuals, hunters or supernaturals, you've gotta learn how to bend the rules a little.' There was a pause as Derek raised his eyebrows at me, indicating for me to go on. 'Derek Hale, I'm gonna teach you how to bend.'

* * *

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! So we found out a bit more about the person who is after Alex - what do you think will happen?**

 **Sounds silly but took me ages to name this chapter because I had a list of possible names and I just couldn't decide! Do you think it works?**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading this story! Let me know what you thought of this chapter :) much love x**


	18. Chapter 17 - Explanations

Over the course of the next week or so, I spent most of my time training with Derek at the loft. We had decided that if we were under attack it was important that we prepare ourselves well. Much to my irritation, he was still quick to say he could defend himself without the use of a firearm. We had got into a few heated shouting matches on the subject of him losing his power which nearly always resulted in me breaking my hand punching his wall and him sulking back into a ball of self-pity and denial. It infuriated me, but nonetheless, we were tolerating each other.

I had been avoiding my apartment like the plague, apart from when I needed to get a change of clothing, and had been crashing at the loft or on Stiles'/Scott's couch. I felt bad for imposing in on their homes but as it was in fact them, more than me, who had insisted that I couldn't stay in my own home for safety reasons, I felt less awkward about it. Besides, Stiles was still getting the silent treatment from Malia so I felt like having me around helped distract him from it.

Nothing much more had happened though, and I could tell that it had everyone on edge. It was almost as if we were just waiting for something terrible to happen, and I'm pretty sure all the tension was driving Lydia a little insane. Most of us trusted her abilities to be able to predict death, and her silence had us pretty certain no one was about to drop dead with a wolfsbane bullet in their head. Even so, this didn't calm my anxiety, or Stiles' for that matter, on the issue of my own personal demon who was hunting me. We had decided it was the right thing to let the others know what was going on with this matter, including the Sherriff and Melissa. This was to keep them safe more than anything and I was happy about that. It had taken a while for me to explain that the real threat wasn't the people who may have been working for the Chemist. The real threat worked alone. He had been silently hunting me for much longer than they had. He made the chemist look like a puppy. He was truly the one I feared the most, the person in my nightmares. I also tried to make it clear that he was most likely not after the power that anyone of them possessed as he already had it. It was me he was after, and although he wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them to get to me, they were not the prime target.

At this time, I was unsurprisingly at the loft, though not just with Derek. A worried and confused Lydia had rung Scott, who had rung the sour wolf asking if he could lend a hand with a matter that had been boiling on the surface for a while now, but had erupted spectacularly this afternoon. It concerned Deputy Parrish, who we discovered to be on the second part of the list just under two weeks ago. It transpired that Parrish had found himself tied up in his squad car, been covered with gasoline by his murderous partner, Haig, and set on fire, only to walk into the station an hour later with nothing but soot covering his body. My favourite part of the story, however, had to be the part when he beat the crap out of Haig for trying to kill him. I grinned sickly as I imagined the look on Haig's face when he realised that Parrish was still alive. Although I wasn't particularly fond of the Deputy at all, I loathed his slimy partner to a much greater extent.

I leant against the table, a little bored, as Derek took Parrish's hands in his an examined them. The deputy had an apprehensive look on his baby face that told me and everyone else that he had no idea what was going on.

'He covered you in gasoline?' Derek asked, followed by Parrish nodding.

'It's the hair and nails, isn't it? The parts of the body that are essentially dead,' Lydia asked and I was a little surprised at her not entirely stupid comment.

'Well, they should be gone,' Derek replied to her, frowning at the Deputy's smooth and burn free skin.

'I was set on fire. All of me should be gone,' Parrish said, and I rolled my eyes at him. I was probably being a bitch for not offering my help, but I didn't really care. I didn't like this guy at all and his lack of supernatural knowledge was not my problem to fix.

'Not if you're like us,' Scott said and I inwardly groaned.

'Like you?' Parrish asked. _Yep, no going back now._

'I don't think he's like us,' Derek said, and I could tell by his tone, and his eyes which darted to me quickly, that he was only referring to himself and Scott.

'Then what is he?' Lydia asked, her eyes focused on me. I shook my head at her, indicating that I most certainly wasn't going to reveal my secret to the Deputy for his benefit.

'Sorry, but I have no idea. This is a little out of my experience,' Derek stated. His tone was laced with words for me which they all were thinking: _but maybe not out of yours._ Three pairs of eyes were now on me, Derek with his eyebrows raised. 'You wanna take a look,' he said as he gestured to Parrish. I glared at him in protest, but he only continued to look at me. It wasn't until I caught Scott's pleading eyes that I sighed and pulled away from the table I was leaning against.

I walked up to Parrish and shot him a glare, which told him I still hadn't forgiven him arresting me, even though I'm sure he still thought of me as the enemy after what he had witnessed at Eichen house. I snatched his hands out of Derek's as I shoved the werewolf out of the way. I wasn't entirely sure what they expected me to do, so I started by looking at his hands like Derek had done. They just looked like normal hands. I huffed, letting them drop to his sides as I rubbed my forehead, expatriated.

'Okay, um… when he set you on fire, did it hurt?' I asked, not really sure where to start with the questions.

'Yeah, I was set on fire,' he replied as if I had asked a stupid question. I shot him look and crossed my arms.

'Okay, that means your body can be damaged. What about at the end of it all? Did you die?' I asked.

'Does it matter?' he asked and I rolled my eyes again.

'Just answer the question,' I snapped.

'I'm not sure,' he replied, 'I think I passed out.'

'That doesn't really tell us anything,' I said under my breath. If I was going to be able to say whether or not her was like me, I had to be sure.

'Do you think he's like you?' Scott asked, causing Parrish to frown.

'I'm not sure,' I replied truthfully.

'Why? What are you?' Parrish asked, but I ignored his question.

'The nails and hair, it's similar to me, but isn't that what happens with you too?' I asked, looking at Derek and Scott.

'No, people like us can't survive fires like that,' Derek replied sombrely, and I noticed Scott shoot him a sympathetic look, 'I know that better than anyone.'

'What if it's just fire?' Lydia asked before I had a chance to question Derek about what he meant.

'You mean like, fire's the only thing that he can heal from?' Scott clarified.

'It's possible,' I replied, looking back at Parrish.

'We need to know if he's like you,' Derek stated, from beside me. 'How do we do that?' I shrugged.

'Shoot him in the head, see what happens,' I stated blankly. I knew they wouldn't like my suggestion, or even consider it for that matter, but I was beyond caring. Parrish looked extremely nervous at this and that made me feel strangely happy for some reason.

'What if he doesn't wake up?' Scott asked, and I turned to look at him, a blank expression on my face.

'Then make sure you get a picture,' I stated.

'What? Why?' the teen wolf asked, confused, and I smirked.

'Visual confirmation is required for payment,' I sang in the voice of the tape recording we had found.

'Very funny,' Derek scoffed sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at me.

'Remind me again why we ruled her out of being The Benefactor?' Lydia asked the room in an annoyed voice. I turned around to glare at her.

'Because, _sweetheart_ ,' I started condescendingly as my eyes narrowed at her, 'if I had one-hundred-and-seventeen million dollars' worth of bearer bonds, I wouldn't waist them on all of you.'

'Can you help or not?' Derek growled and my eyes darted away from the strawberry blonde to the wolf.

'You asked for my advice, and you got it' I said, almost accusingly. 'And in case you haven't noticed, we have much bigger problems to worry about than finding out what the hell this guy is.' I sighed a long sigh after my slight outburst. 'Don't worry, you're not like me,' I said, turning to Parrish and meeting his eyes. 'If you were, you would know by now.' I turned away and walked back to my place in the shadows. I hoisted myself up so I was perched on the table as the conversations picked up again.

'There might be something in the bestiary,' Derek sighed, 'Did you try Argent?'

'I don't know where he is,' Scott replied.

'Okay, hold on. What's a bestiary? Actually, that's not even my first question. Just... Just tell me one thing. Are all of you like Lydia? Are you all psychic?' Parrish asked, and I scoffed under my breath.

'Psychic? God, you are so naïve,' I said as I shook my head. 'You know,' I started, catching Parrish in my wicked stare, 'I would almost feel sorry for you if I didn't hate your guts.'

'Don't pay her any attention, none of us do,' the strawberry blonde said, sending me a harsh glare which I returned with a shit eating grin.

'Uh, Psychic?' Scott repeated, scratching the back of his neck. 'Not exactly…'

'Okay. Then what are you?' Parrish asked. I watched on as Derek and Scott shared a look. With a heavy sigh, Scott stepped in front on Parrish, preparing himself before he revealed his secret. He let his eyes fall shut, and for a long moment, I thought he would chicken out. Finally, Scott's eyelids pealed apart, revealing a set of searing red irises.

The air in the room seemed to escape as we waited for the young deputy's reaction.

'Wha… I don't…' He stumbled over his words like an out of breath four-year-old. 'You're a-.'

'I think the word you're looking for is werewolf,' I interrupted with an amused grin as Scott's eyes turned back to their normal brown.

'You're a werewolf?' Parrish questioned, weary eyes fixed on Scott.

'Yeah,' Scott said, a reassuring smile appearing on his lips. 'I'm an alpha,' Scott explained, pointing to his eyes to show what the red colour represented. 'Derek's…'

'In denial,' I chimed in with a smirk, receiving an irritated glare from the sour wolf himself. Parrish sent me a confused look and Scott eyed Derek and I with an exasperated look as if we were squabbling children.

'Derek's a werewolf too,' Scott finished.

'What about Lydia?' Parrish asked, looking at the strawberry blonde.

'Banshee,' Lydia replied simply. 'Meredith was one too,' she told him, and I lowered my gaze as I remembered our trip to Eichen House.

'Okay…' the deputy replied, obviously not entirely sure how to process all this information. 'What about you?' His question was directed at me and I looked up from my position on the table to meet his quizzical stare. I watched Derek raise an eyebrow at me from the corner of my eye, as if to say, 'go on, tell him.' It was like he was daring me.

'I'm not like them,' I told the deputy truthfully.

'She's uh…' Scott started, and I was grateful that he decided to help me explain. 'She's kind of indestructible.' I winced at his statement, though it was _kind of_ true.

'So you … can't die?' the deputy asked with a sceptical look. I was going to correct him, tell him of the fact that I actually could die, but the thought of explaining it again tired me so I decided just to let it go.

'Yeah, basically,' I told him after nodding my head. Scott, with the occasional help of Lydia and Derek, then proceeded to fill him in on everything that had happened in Beacon Hills for the past couple of years. Most of the things I was familiar with, Stiles having filled me in a few weeks ago, but I still listened intently in case he missed something.

'What's a Kanima?' Parrish asked after Scott had finished.

'We'll get back to that. Just know that everyone like us, everyone with some kind of supernatural ability is on the dead pool,' he explained.

'But I don't even know what I am,' Parrish argued pitifully and I rolled my eyes at him.

'I'm pretty sure they don't care,' Derek said, pulling the words out of my mouth.

'How many professional assassins are we talking about?' Parrish asked.

'We're starting to lose count,' Lydia replied, the truth in her words making me shiver.

'But is it still just professionals?' I asked as I remembered how easily I had disarmed Haig in my apartment barely a month ago. He certainly wasn't a professional assassin.

'I don't think Haigh's ever tried anything like this. I think he was taking a chance,' Parrish said.

'That means anyone with the dead pool could take a chance,' Derek said, concern in his eyes.

'But if Haigh had it, then who else does? How easy is it to get this thing now?' Parrish asked, and it was a question I dreaded to think about.

'Copies could have been floating around for months,' Scott said. 'How did you say you got yours again?' he asked, and all eyes turned to me.

'It was slipped under the door of my hotel room,' I explained. 'I was staying a few miles outside Beacon County when I got it. I was planning on coming to Beacon Hills anyway, but after I got the list, I drove down the next morning.'

'But that doesn't make any sense,' Parrish mused. 'Why would you be on a dead pool for supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills if you weren't even in Beacon Hills when you got it?' The question scared me and I didn't like it. It was silly, but I had never thought about why I happened to be included on the list. I guessed it was just because I was close to Beacon Hills, but thinking about it now, there must have been many other supernaturals in my 'catchment area' who weren't on the list.

'I don't know,' I breathed as a furrowed my brow.

'It's like whoever wrote this knew you were coming,' Scott said as he held up the list.

'Either that or they just really want you dead,' Derek said, and I looked up at him, expecting to be met with a smirk. I was caught off guard by the deep concern that swam through his sombre expression, fear eclipsing his emerald eyes.

'They want all of us dead,' I said, trying to shake the feeling of impending doom that clung to me like a second skin.

* * *

'Meredith was only at my grandmother's lake house once. But I think once was enough,' Lydia said. You could tell she had somehow drifted into another world, like she was living through the memories of her grandmother. She decided she needed to tell us the story of her grandmother, Lorraine Martin. From what she had described so far, it sounded as if she was a Banshee too.

'How did your grandmother know her?' Derek asked. I wondered the same thing.

'She didn't. She found her. Because of another woman named Maddy. The woman she loved,' Lydia said before sighing. 'I never met her, but I saw her name everywhere. She used to be part of a yacht racing team. There were plaques and trophies in the lake house from all the regattas she'd won,' Lydia explained.

'How did she die?' Parrish asked.

'How's not the story. It's what happened right before. My grandmother, Lorraine, used to work in San Francisco for IBM. She was there on a weekend, catching up on work. She started hearing this sound... Like rain. But when she looked out the windows... All she saw was blue sky,' Lydia continued. The abilities of a banshee had always interested me, possible stemming from the fact that they predicted death, and that was something I was familiar with.

'But she kept hearing the rain?' the teen wolf asked.

'And it just kept getting louder. Rain and thunder cracking like gunshots in her head. So loud. She finally just screamed,' Lydia said.

'Like a Banshee,' Derek said, and Lydia nodded.

'She called Maddy who was planning on taking one of the boats out on the lake. But Maddy said that the sun was shining there too. So Lorraine didn't say anything,' she said.

'There was an accident?' I asked quietly.

'It took them four days to find Maddy's body. And then it took decades to figure out how Lorraine knew. She started with parapsychologists, like the PhD in their name made it more scientific. They built the study in the lake house according to every pseudoscientific theory they could find. None of it worked. So then she started going to more extreme occult. Things like mediums and psychics All of them were failures.' Lydia paused, choosing her next words carefully. 'Until she found Meredith,' she said.

'They found her in Eichen House. This fragile girl who didn't understand the things she heard. They brought her to the study. And they almost killed her. She was hospitalized for over a year. She... never really recovered. My grandmother drove her insane I drove her to suicide,' Lydia said sadly, and I felt a pang of guilt fun through my chest. It wasn't Lydia's fault. If anyone was to blame, it was me. 'And all she ever wanted to do was help. My grandmother created the code for the dead pool. They think she's the Banshee who put the names out in the first place. She left me this message in the same code,' Lydia said, holding up the code her mother had given her. It was the last thing that Lorraine had written before she died.

'But she didn't leave a cipher key, did she?' Scott asked, and Lydia shook her head.

* * *

Soon after, Lydia had left to see if she could work out what the cipher key was to crack Lorraine's code. Parrish had left too, having offered to drive Lydia to Stiles' house since he was the one who had driven her here. I had planned on going with them as I wanted to check on Stiles. Apparently whilst Parrish was beating the crap out of Haig earlier that day, Haig had managed to accidently shoot the Sheriff who was now in hospital, though it didn't seem like his life was under any threat. I decided against it, however, wanting to stay at the loft and see if I could help Scott with anything.

I quickly hopped in and out of the shower, having not had one since Derek and I's training session this morning. When I was done, I got changed and slipped out of the bathroom. As I was entering the main room of the loft, I caught sight of Scott and Derek. They looked like they were having an important conversation and I didn't want to interrupt. So, I did what any normal person would do. I listened in as I peeked around the door frame.

'Careful with that,' Derek said as I noticed Scott reaching for the gun Argent had given me.

'I thought you didn't like guns,' Scott said as Derek took the gun from Scott and stared down at it in his hands.

'It's hers,' Derek replied. 'She's been trying to teach me to use it,' he said and I could have sworn I saw a ghost of a smile appear on his lips.

'Does this have something to do with your eyes?' Scott asked with a furrowed brow.

'My eyes, my strength, the healing... All of it,' Derek said. I was surprised how easily Derek admitted this to Scott. They must really trust each other.

'Gone?' Scott asked.

'Whatever Kate did to me, it's still happening,' Derek said. It was then that I felt I was witnessing a very trusting and intimate conversation between friends and suddenly, I felt very oddly guilty to be eavesdropping on it. I slipped out from the doorway before I could hear Scott's response, moving back into the bathroom to waste time until they were done talking.

I combed through my tangled hair, pulling it into a high ponytail on my head. I then applied a little foundation, along with my usual amounts of eyeliner and mascara. I knew it was silly to be thinking about makeup at a time like this, but at least it would give me something to do whilst Derek and Scott finished their conversation.

I let a fair few minutes pass before I gathered my things, making sure to make my footsteps obvious so that even Derek, with his next to normal hearing, would be able to hear me approaching.

Scott was nowhere to be seen when I entered the main room to the loft, perhaps he had already left. Derek still held my gun in his hands which he put down on the table immediately when I saw I was in the room. I wanted to make a comment, but instead, I left it.

'Scott gone, there's something at the high school he has to be at,' he explained, and I nodded.

'You okay?' I asked softly, and Derek swallowed thickly before shaking his head.

'Yeah,' he replied, sending me a forced smile that turned into a grimace.

'Anything you want to talk about,' I said, feeling slightly awkward.

'Not really,' he replied, walking passed me. He was holding a piece of paper which I wanted to snatch out of his hand and read, but I restrained myself.

'What do you think we should do about Parrish?' I asked, quickly changing the subject. He shook his head as he gave a tired sigh.

'Argent's the only other person I can think of right now who might know something, so I guess we'll just have to wait,' he replied.

I felt a buzzing in my back pocket and pulled out my phone. I had a text from Stiles.

'Lydia cracked her Grandmother's code. Stiles said they're going to the station to run the names through the system,' I told Derek after reading the text.

'You should go,' Derek said, and I looked at him in surprise. 'See if you can help.' I wanted to stay and find out what was bothering him, but I doubted he would tell me. I reluctantly nodded, picked my gun off the table and left the loft, driving myself to the station.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you liked that chapter!**

 **So there is going to be a little more of Alex's background revealed in the next chapter (maybe even a flashback ;) so I hope you like that. Thanks so much to everyone who reads this story! It feels great knowing that people actually want to read the stuff I'm writing so thank you so much!**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought of that chapter :) Much love x**


	19. Chapter 18 - Way Back When

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any of the characters or plot lines in this story. Ideas and events in this chapter were taken from the TV show heroes season one episodes 3 and 4 so all rights to the writers.**

 **Warning: Some of the events in the flashback in this chapter may be triggering for some people. I have marked where the flashback starts and ends so you can skip it out if you don't want to read it. I don't want to give too much away but the dialogue before the flashback hints at what the content of the flashback is going to be.**

 **Sorry for the long AN I just really don't want to cause anyone upset or distress from this story.**

* * *

Lydia and Stiles had already gone by the time I made it to the station. I found Parrish at his desk after I walked straight past the front desk, much to the annoyance of the secretary. After a hasty greeting, Parrish showed me a copy of the names that Lydia had decoded.

'Is it another deadpool?' I asked confusedly.

'More like an already deadpool,' Parrish replied.

'What? All of them? All dead?' I asked disbelievingly. Why would Lydia's grandmother leave her a list of names of people who were already dead?

'Within the last 10 years. All suicides,' Parrish said. 'And all at the same place.' That last part made my stomach drop.

'Eichen House,' I said, and Parrish nodded. 'Is that where Stiles and Lydia have gone?' I asked worriedly, hoping they wouldn't have a repeat of the last time they were there. I don't know what it was about Eichen House, maybe the creepy haunted house vibe, or the resemblance it had to the institution I had spent seven months of my life in, but something about that horrible place made my skin crawl. I wondered if all the patients were crazy before they got there or if it was the place that drove them to their insanity. I knew all too well what being in a place like that could do to someone.

'Yeah,' Parrish replied. 'They left about a half hour ago. Lydia said something about checking files.'

'Let me see the list again,' I said, and Parrish got it up on his computer again. I scanned the list again, reading the names to search for clues that might help.

'Lorraine Martin,' I said, reading the last name on the list.

'Lydia's grandmother, right? She died in Eichen House too,' Parrish said.

'And she was a banshee…' I mused, the cogs turning in my head. 'She predicted her own suicide?' I asked no one in particular. 'How does that make any sense?'

'Maybe they got it wrong,' Parrish said. 'Maybe it wasn't a suicide.'

'Maybe none of them were,' I said, my eyebrows knitting together in concern.

'What? Are you saying all these people were murdered?' Parrish asked, incredulously.

'Maybe. You said it yourself, it's an already deadpool. Maybe all these people have already been assassinated,' I said, my voice getting urgent.

'But why would Lorraine leave this for Lydia? Why would she write the code?' he asked.

'I don't know, but we have to find out,' I said. I pushed away from the desk I had been leaning on and headed for the door. 'Come one,' I called over my shoulder, 'we have to find Stiles and Lydia.'

* * *

By this time, Stiles and Lydia already had about forty minutes on us and that made me very nervous. Whoever it was who was responsible for all those deaths might still be there, and I doubted they would be willing to let two teenagers look through any kind of files without putting up a fight.

Deputy Parrish, although he was technically not on duty, decided it would be best to take the police cruiser. This way, if anything bad happened, he would easily be able to call for backup. He was unimpressed, however, when I pulled the gun out of my jeans before we got into the vehicle, but I told him there was no way I was going anywhere without it, whether he liked it or not. Besides, he had one in his belt too.

I sighed as I caught sight of Parrish's nervous expression from the passenger seat of the cruiser. I could tell he was not handling the day's ordeals as well as the rest of us from the way he anxiously gripped the steering wheel. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't blame him. He had just been stabbed in the back by someone he trusted, although I had to admit that only an idiot would trust a guy like Haig. It was weird seeing the deputy void of his do-gooder attitude and unfaltering smile he wore so readily, and it was most likely the latter that drove me to say what I said next.

'I'm sorry,' I said begrudgingly as I stared out of the passenger window at the houses rushing by.

'What?' Parrish asked, taken aback by my sudden apology.

'I'm sorry this happened to you,' I said again, still not wanting to face him properly.

'Why? None of this is your fault,' he said, and I saw him turn to look at me the in reflection of the window.

'I know, I just…' I paused, turning to face the front, though not meeting his eyes. 'What I'm trying to say is that I know what it's like to have someone you think you can trust stab you in the back,' I said, and my words were sincere.

'So, you're saying you're sorry that Haig turned into an asshole?' he asked with raised eye brows.

'No. Haig was always an asshole,' I said blankly, simply stating what was clearly obvious to all. 'I'm sorry he set you on fire for five million dollars and left you for dead.' I met his eyes this time as I spoke and we shared a quick glance and he nodded, before we sank back into silence once again.

'This is all so crazy,' Parrish mused after a few minutes of silence. 'I mean, I knew something was up with Lydia and then that whole thing at your apartment, but this…' he trailed off as the new knowledge swam through his head. 'It was yours, wasn't it?' he mused and I sent him a confused look. 'All that blood in your apartment?' he clarified.

'Yeah,' I said grimly, thinking back to that day when The Mute had broken into my apartment and tried to kill me.

'You were fine when we found you,' the young deputy stated. It wasn't a dig at me, and I knew that, he was just trying to set out all the facts in his head and piece them all together.

'I told you, I can heal,' I said, referring to our conversation earlier that day when we had all revealed our little secrets to the deputy.

'Yeah, but what does that mean?' he said, talking his eyes off the road to look at he, the need to understand practically radiating off of him. 'Like, is it from anything? What about a wooden stake to the heart?'

'I'm not a vampire,' I told him with a stern frown and a turned up nose. 'You know, just because werewolves exist, it doesn't mean that supernatural creatures are gonna start hopping out of every teen novel.'

'Got it, sorry,' he replied, and I noticed his cheeks darken a little in embarrassment. I chuckled a little at him and shook my head.

'Anything else you wanna ask?' I said, almost daringly, but I held a smirk on my face to keep the mood light.

'I… I don't know what to think. I… I mean, what if I died? I don't know if I just healed really fast or if I actually came back to life. How does someone move on from that?' he asked, and a small, sad smile graced my lips.

'I've died before, it's no biggy,' I told him, looking back at him as he continued to drive.

'How many times?' he asked, and I mused for a little while, contemplating my answer.

'I'm not sure. A lot,' I replied honestly.

'When did you realise you could come back?' he asked quietly.

'You want me to tell you about the first time I died? I asked incredulously.

'You don't have too,' he said quickly but I only smiled, thinking back. I wasn't because the memory was a happy one, but more because I realised that prior to that occasion, I was actually happy. Yeah, I never got sick or had wounds for too long and I didn't know why, and yeah, I was living in a foster home with six other kids who I didn't particularly like. But I was at school, and I had friends, and ironically, that was the time I had felt the most normal. Well not normal, but I did feel more like a teenager.

'Are you sure you can handle it?' I said, almost teasingly. I knew it was silly, and kind of sick, to be joking about it, but honestly, this was the only way _I_ could handle it.

'Come on, it can't be that bad,' he said, with a small smile.

'I was murdered,' I said bluntly and I watched as the smile dropped from his face.

'Alex, I…'

'Sophomore year,' I said looking out of the window.

'Alex, you don't have to…' he said, and I could tell he felt bad, though I couldn't understand why. It wasn't his fault.

'You wanna hear the story or not?' I asked, in a slightly harsher tone as my head snapped in his direction. He nodded and I sighed. 'It was about three months before my sixteenth birthday, and the football team had their first match of the season. Back then I was on the cheerleading squad, and every year, it was a tradition that after the game, there was this party, we all called it the bleacher's bonfire, although we weren't actually on the field. Our school had pretty big grounds, and the bonfire was always in this massive field next to the school that the principle said was being turned into another football pitch. There was alcohol and stuff, but none of the teachers cared, even the principle, especially if we won. Our team killed it that year, so everyone was super excited for the victory party after. Me and this girl, Katherine her name was, were gonna go, just for a couple of hours. She had heard from one of the other girls that this guy on the team liked me, and was thinking about asking me out at the party. It was stupid really, now I think about it. I was basically only going to the party so this guy could ask me on a date.'

'Who was he?' Parrish asked.

'His name was Jamie; he was a senior. He was also the quarterback, and the most popular guy in school. Practically everyone was crazy about him.'

'So what? Did something happen at the party?' Parrish asked, growing a little impatient.

'Me and Katherine arrived at the party around 8:30. There were already tons of people there and the music was so loud you could hardly hear a thing…

 _*Flashback*_

 _'Hey Lexi!' I heard Katherine shout my nickname from behind me. I turned around to see her holding a read solo cup in each hand. She was dressed in the same blue cheer uniform that I wore, although hers had clearly been rolled up at the waist to expose even more of her long legs that were already on show._

 _She pushed through the bodies of dancing teens, proudly handing me a cup of what I assumed was beer. I took it with a roll of my eyes and downed it in one, knowing full well that it would do nothing to me. That was the worst thing about my stupid ability. I couldn't get drunk._

 _'Wow, slow down, girl,' she giggled as she slipped a hip flask from her skirt and generously poured the contents into her own cup._

 _'Me?' I said with a laugh as she shoved the container back into her skirt and took a long sip from her cup._

 _'What? It's a party!' she yelled over the music as she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the mass of dancing people. I laughed loudly with her as we joined the crowd, jumping and dancing with no cares in the world._

 _'Hey look,' she shouted, but it was barely audible over the booming of the speakers. She pointed a finger out of the crowd and I followed her gaze to spot a small group of guys. Amongst them was Jamie. 'You should go talk to him,' she said and my eyes widened at her._

 _'What? No! I can't just go and talk to him,' I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

 _'Of course you can! I heard from Rachel, who heard from Pete, who was told by Jessica, that Jamie is really into you,' he said and I raised my eyebrows at her._

 _'What? No he's not. He would never like me,' I said, completely doubting her words. There was no way that Jamie, popular, football superstar Jamie, who also happened to be a senior, would ever look twice at me. I was only a sophomore after all._

 _'Don't be silly, Lex, just go talk to him,' she urged, still swaying to the beat of the music._

 _'I can't.'_

 _'Well you might not have a choice, because he's walking this way,' she said excitedly. I turned back to see that she was right. Jamie had left his group of friends and was now heading towards us. Butterflies filled my stomach at the thought of talking to him. Sure we had talked before at practice and stuff, but never in a more sociable setting. My heart was practically in my mouth._

 _'Oh god, Kat, what do I do?!' I squealed, unsure on how I should start a conversation, let alone stop it from drying up straight away._

 _'Just be yourself, okay. He'll love you,' he said with a smile._

 _'Do I look okay?' I asked nervously, running a hand through my dark locks._

 _'Hmm,' she said for a second. She reached over to me and rolled up my skirt a fair few times, before pulling my top down more, exposing a little cleavage, but still not as much as she was showing. 'Perfect,' she said with a satisfied smirk. 'Have fun!' she giggled with a wink as she disappeared into the dancing crowd._

 _I felt a tap on my shoulder and I whirled around, the sight of Jamie's face filling my vision._

 _'Hey, Alexia,' he said smoothly, and the fact that he even knew my name made my heart pound at a thousand beats a minute._

 _'Hey Jamie,' I replied chirpily, smiling widely at him, and then mentally smacking myself for seeming too enthusiastic. 'You played great tonight,' I told him, and he smiled, a cute, dazzling smile that lit up his perfectly blue eyes._

 _'Thanks, you did great too,' he said warmly, and it took me a while to process what he had said, those damn eyes were distracting me._

 _'Thanks, are you enjoying the party?' I asked._

 _'Yeah, I'm having a great time.' We talked like that for a while, him looking at me with those beautiful eyes, me trying not to faint from excitement at talking to him. After a while, the music picked up, and I awkwardly tried to bop along to the beat._

 _'Hey, you wanna go somewhere a bit quieter so we can actually hear each other?' he asked. I giggled a little at him and nodded my head._

 _'Sure,' I replied, and he took my hand and pulled me through the heavy crowd._

 _We ended up being a good distance away from the rest of the party, but the music was still audible. We were closer to the main pitch, under the bleachers actually, were the game had taken place only a few hours ago. We sat down on the grass next to each other, and I leaned against the stands. I watched as Jamie undid the cap on a bottle of what looked like vodka and took a big gulp from it. Did he have that earlier?_

 _'Want some?' he asked as he offered the bottle to me. If I was a normal fifteen-year-old, I most likely would have declined, but I wasn't, and I knew the vodka wouldn't do anything to me._

 _'Sure,' I replied as I took the bottle from him and took a big sip. He seemed surprised that I accepted his offer, and a little impressed, I thought. I handed it back to him and he took another swig before putting the cap back on. 'So, have you made plans for college?' I asked, unsure of what to talk about now that we were alone._

 _'I got offered a football scholarship last semester,' he said, and my eyes widened._

 _'Wow, that's impressive,' I said, and he smirked back at me. 'Which Uni?'_

 _'Can we not talk about college,' he said as he took another sip from the vodka._

 _'Sure,' I said, a little taken aback, although I bet college was all his parents talked about, so it was understandable. 'What do you wanna talk-.' I was abruptly cut off as the quarterback's lips met mine unexpectedly. It took me a moment to realise what was happening, but when I did, I responded, kissing him back. It wasn't like this was my first kiss, far from it in fact, but it was the first time I had kissed a senior, and it was the best feeling ever. Even if I could taste the alcohol on his lips._

 _The first thing that popped into my head was how excited Kat would be later when I told her everything. I imagined her saying, 'Shut up!' in a high pitched squeal of excitement, followed by 'Jessica's gonna be so jealous of you!' (Jessica happened to be the head of the cheerleading squad, and it was no secret that she had a major crush on Jamie.)_

 _He pulled away after a few seconds, and smiled at me. 'You are so beautiful,' he told me, and I felt a smile creep onto my lips. 'You want another drink?' he asked me, and I was surprised at his question._

 _'Uh, sure,' I replied, thinking it was a little odd. I took the second drink anyway, knowing it wouldn't do anything to me, and Jamie, of course, took a few more gulps himself. Although I wasn't concerned about myself, I was however becoming concerned about him. He didn't seem drunk or anything, but the bottle, that wasn't particularly small, was already over half way empty. Weren't normal people supposed to get drunk from drinking vodka?_

 _'Wanna dance?' he asked after capping the vodka bottle. I giggled at him, my worries about the vodka drifting away as I let him take my hand and pull me up. He pulled me close to him, one hand on my waist whilst the other held my hand. We could still her the music, so we swayed to the beat of it. He occasionally spun me around, which caused me to laugh loudly as I held onto his shoulder. He laughed too, and in that moment I completely forgot about all my anxiety about my ability, or trying to be normal._

 _Soon we were out of breath from laughing and spinning around, Jamie clutching his tummy where it hurt from laughing too much, though he still had a smile on his face. He took a few more gulps from the vodka bottle, before turning back to me, placing a hand on each side of my waist. I let mine fall onto his shoulders as I smiled at him. We kissed again, but this time it was different. It wasn't as good as the first. For one thing, his breath was laced with a much stronger taste of alcohol than before. It was also much sloppier, and I could tell that the vodka had gone to his head. He walked me backwards until I hit the side of the bleachers, our lips still together. His feet stumbled a little as he did it, and his grip on my waist tightened as if he needed to hold onto me to keep himself upright._

 _The kiss continued for longer as he pressed me against the stands, my hands still on his shoulders as one of his trailed down to my thigh. I continued to kiss him back, although the new location of his hand was starting to make me feel a little uncomfortable. I wasn't naïve, I knew what he was trying to do. But for now, nothing bad was happening, so I didn't push him away._

 _His lips left mine, and for a moment I thought he would pull away from me, possibly to vomit, but instead, he pressed his lips to my neck, pushing his hips against mine. His hand was now under my skirt, and I flinched a little at the contact of his hand on my thigh. It was hot and clammy. I had seen this happen a million times in movies, kids making out at parties, and it looked like it would be fun. But then, as he continued to kiss my neck, I wasn't having fun. I wasn't that I didn't want to do what he wanted to do, I just didn't want to do it whilst he was drunk._

 _'Jamie…' I started, but I didn't think he heard me. I tried again. 'Jamie, I think we should go back to the party,' I said, and I felt him pause. He heard me this time._

 _'What's the matter, beautiful, you not having fun?' he slurred drunkenly as he pressed his body into mine._

 _'No, it's just…' I didn't know how to say it. I didn't want him to get upset. 'I think you've had a little too much to drink.' He laughed a little at this, but I didn't get what was funny._

 _'You've had the same amount as me, haven't you?' he said with a smirk. 'And I bet my tolerance is higher than yours, little Sophomore.'_

 _I seriously doubted that. And I wasn't too fond of the nickname he had given me either. He continued to kiss me, so I pushed on his shoulders lightly, trying to get him to move away. He didn't budge. I pushed harder, and this time, he stumbled back a little. He didn't take the hint though and got close to me again, this time pushing a hand up my top._

 _'Jamie, stop!' I said, more forcefully this time, and pushed him harder. He stumbled back again, and this time he didn't come closer. 'Let's just go back to the party, okay?' I said, as I turned and walked away from him._

 _'Come on, Lexi,' he slurred as I heard him stumbled towards me. His hands wrapped around me from behind, trapping my arms either side of me. He pressed his lips to my ear, causing a shiver to run down my spine, but not in a good way. He was really starting to piss me off now, all I wanted was to be back at the party. I managed to wriggle one of my arms free and elbowed him hard in the stomach. He cowered backwards, clutching his stomach. I turned around, suddenly regretting my decision to come over here with him. He looked up at me with dark eyes as an apology for elbowing him fell out of my mouth in a torrent of incomprehensible sentences. He approached me again, his eyes filled with anger, as he slapped a hand across my face. It hurt. A lot. And I found myself lying on the grass as I clutched my cheek._

 _'Fuck, Lex, I'm sorry,' he said, suddenly a little soberer as he watched me crawl away from him on the ground. I pulled out my phone which was hidden down my bra, unlocking it and searching for the number. 'What are you doing?' he asked as I stood up and walked away from him, tears streaming down my face._

 _'Calling Kat,' I choked out through my tears._

 _'What? Why?' he asked frantically._

 _'I wanna go home,' I said as I continued to walk away._

 _'Wait, Alex, please?' he begged from behind me. 'I'm sorry, just please don't call her.'_

 _'Why the hell not?' I yelled, as I turned around to look at him. I was met with a fist from him, and it was completely unexpected. Once I was on the ground, he kicked me multiple times, once in the stomach, a few more in the ribs. I felt a couple crack, and I screamed in pain, only for the pain to vanish once they had healed. 'Stop!' I screamed as he kicked me more. I wasn't sure why he wouldn't stop, maybe he was afraid I would tell someone he was drunk. Maybe he thought I would tell them that he hit me. Maybe he thought I would call the cops and he would lose his scholarship. I wouldn't have told, I just wanted to go home._

 _I lay still after a while, and he stopped, perhaps thinking I had passed out, or even that I was dead. At this, I jumped up and started running as fast as I could towards the party. He seemed very surprised at my sudden recovery, but nonetheless, he ran after me. Although I did have the ability to heal, that didn't, however, mean that I could outrun a football player. He caught up to me quickly and used my hair to pull me back. I screamed again, causing him to punch me in the stomach. I spat out a mouthful of blood. He had pulled me back to the bleachers, and now had me cornered. I had nowhere to run, and I only hoped he would just back off, though it didn't seem likely. With one last flash of anger, he sent a fist to my face, causing me to fall to the ground with a heavy thump. The last thing I felt was a sharp object pierce the back of my neck before I was plunged into darkness._

 _*flashback over*_

'He killed you?' Parrish asked disbelievingly after I had told him the story.

'Yep,' I said, popping the p loudly. 'When he hit me, I fell on an old branch. A piece of it went into the base of my skull, killing me pretty much instantly,' I said, thinking back to that night. It was how I knew to tell Stiles to stab me in the head before when we needed to fake my death.

'But you woke up, right?'

'Obviously,' I said with a frustrated sigh.

'How though? I mean, wouldn't someone have to pull it out?' he questioned and I sighed. 'Where were you when you woke up?'

'Are you sure you want me to tell you?' I asked, wincing a little at the thought of it. He nodded, a frown on his face.

'I woke up in a hospital morgue, during the autopsy. The doctor examining me pulled the branch out I guess, and I woke up. They weren't in the room though,' I explained. I hadn't thought about that day for a long time. It was horrible waking up in the morgue and not knowing where I was or how long I had been out for. I barely knew what was happening.

'That's horrible,' Parrish said, echoing my thoughts.

'Yeah, it wasn't exactly the highlight of my high school career,' I said. That was an understatement. 'You ever seen an autopsy, Deputy?' I asked him, genuinely curious.

'No, I uh, usually see the bodies before that part,' he explained, a grimace on his face.

'Do you know what happens?' I asked. It was getting hard for me to speak now, the horrific memories of waking up how I did flooding my mind and tightening my chest. Parrish didn't answer, and I took it as a signal to go on. 'They cut you open. It's like unzipping a dress.' I spat the words as I traced a line with my finger from clavicle to my belly button. 'Then after they're done poking around, they stitch you back up,' I said, my voice getting a little shaky. 'I woke up before that part,' I said, the memories of waking up with my chest cavity open flashing through my head.

'I'm sorry,' Parrish said sincerely, and I looked over at him. I could see the pain in his eyes, empathetic pain as I told him the story.

'After I was all healed up I checked the notes,' I said, now able to talk a little clearer. 'They had me down as a Jane Doe, I guess Jamie took my phone, and probably my clothes as well. I was wearing my high school cheer uniform after all,' I explained. 'The place they found me was seven miles away from the school.'

'Seven?' Parrish asked disbelievingly. 'There's no way that kid could have carried you that far.'

'I know. The river went right by my high school. Jamie dragged me to it and dumped my body in the water. I must've been swept down. After the cops found me, they must've taken me to the morgue. The hospital was only a couple of miles away from school,' I explained.

'What happened after that? What did you tell your parents?' I laughed at this, a cold, dry laugh.

'I had to have been dead for less than five hours. It was early in the morning when I snuck out of the hospital. I ran home. Back in time for breakfast.'

'They didn't know you were gone?' Parrish asked, and I laughed again.

'Oh, they knew. My foster mom gave me shit when I got home. She was pissed I stayed out all night. Probably thought I was at a friend's house or something,' I told him.

'What about Jamie?' the deputy asked. I sighed heavily, leaning my forehead against the passenger window.

'He sure was surprised to see me at school the next day. I think I nearly gave him a heart attack,' I said with a dry chuckle. 'I had this plan to confront him, but in the end…' I trained off.

'In the end…?' Parrish asked.

'In the end, I was a coward,' I admitted. 'I left the next morning, couldn't stand seeing him after everything that had happened.'

'So he just got away with it?' Parrish asked, seemingly angry all of a sudden.

'Away with what? My murder?' I questioned with furrowed eyebrows. 'Hate to break it to you, Deputy, but for a murder, you need a victim.'

'You still could've pressed charges for assault,' he said and I scoffed at him, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

'Oh really?' I asked sarcastically. 'And what about evidence? People like us don't get to 'press charges',' I replied with a huff of irritation.

Well fell silent for a moment. The moment dragged and the minutes passed, neither of us saying anything. 'What? Now you're not talking to me, Parrish?'

'Jordan,' the young deputy said from beside me.

'Excuse me?' I asked, not sure what he was on about.

'It's Jordan, that's my name,' he said. I glanced over at him in surprise, and he shot me a look. It wasn't really a kind or an unkind look. It was just a look. I shook my head as I rolled my eyes.

'Whatever, Parrish,' I said as I looked back out of the window, but I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips.

* * *

 **AN: So that was chapter 18! Not much happened in terms of the season 4 story line but you got to see a glimpse of Alex's past.**

 **Did you think the flashback format worked? Or would it have been better to just have Alex telling Parrish the story herself? Also, would you be interested in seeing more flashbacks from Alex's past in future chapters?**

 **So many questions! Sorry!**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and let me know what you think! Much love x**


	20. Chapter 19 - Unwound

**Hello :)**

 **Please could you read the note at the end of this chapter is its kinda an important one, thanks :)**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

'I don't think that's such a good idea,' Parrish said as I drew my gun from my jeans as we approached the gates to Eichen House.

'Well I do,' I said, ignoring his suggestion to put away my gun. 'If you're worried I'll choke, I won't. I'm not gun shy,' I said with a smirk.

'Yeah, that's exactly what I'm worried about,' the young deputy said under his breath, but it was still loud enough for me to hear, and I think that was intentional. I laughed at this.

'Why, because you are?' I asked with a smirk which he returned with a glare. I chuckled again. 'Don't worry, I'll be trigger happy for the both of us,' I joked, but he didn't find it amusing.

'I'm serious. You're not a cop, so put away the gun,' he said more sternly. I huffed in irritation, sliding the weapon back into my jeans.

'Fine, but if I get shot for a sixth time in three weeks, you're buying me a new shirt.' He didn't respond to my comment, merely relaxing a little once I had put the gun away. Once we had reached the gates, Parrish flashed the guard his badge and we were in.

'So what's the plan?' I asked once we had entered the building.

'The plan?' he asked with a frown.

'Yeah, what's our cover story?' I asked, thinking it was an obvious question. He gave me a funny look. 'We can't just go up to the guard and say 'hey, have you seen a red head and a brunette? They're probably in the records room reading all your confidential files!'' I whispered harshly at him.

'Point taken,' he whispered back. 'So what do we do?'

'Say you need to check the files because on an… ongoing murder investigation,' I suggested under my breath. 'And you can't divulge any more information about it.'

'Don't you think they'll be suspicious?' he asked me and I looked at him quizzically. 'That's the excuse we used last time.'

'Well, if you haven't noticed, there are a hell of a lot of murders happening at the moment. Remember that hit list we're all on?' I urged him. He was wasting time. 'It doesn't matter what the excuse is, just make something up!'

'Okay, okay,' the deputy said. I was growing impatient. I nodded towards the front desk, signalling for him to go and get us in. He walked up to the guard and after a short conversation and another flash of his badge, we were being escorted down a corridor.

'We can take it from here, thanks,' Parrish told the guard, who glared at us before reluctantly walking away, leaving us alone in the corridor. 'Well he was a lot easier to get past then that Brunski guy last time,' Parrish mused and I nodded with a small chuckle. Then, suddenly, something I had seen earlier that night was brought to the forefront of my brain. A name I had seen. Parrish carried on talking, but I wasn't paying attention to a word. I was focused on a thought that had just popped into my head, a horrible, yet enlightening thought.

'What did you just say?' I asked Parrish urgently, grabbing his arm to stop him in his tracks.

'I asked if you knew which way the records room was,' Parrish said confusedly.

'No, no, before that. You said something about Brunski…' I trailed off, thinking about where I had seen that name. The realisation hit me like a brick wall. L. Brunski. The suicides at Eichen House, or rather the murders. At the station, we had found all the reports. They were all signed by the same person. 'It's Brunski,' I breathed.

'We've gotta find Lydia and Stiles,' Parrish said, panic starting to well up inside the both of us. We hurried down the corridor, searching for any sign of the records room. Finally, we came across an ajar door, the words _Patient Records_ printed to the door in block capitals. I watched as Parrish pulled his gun from his belt and I slowly copied. He nodded to me once, and we then quietly pushed the door open, both with a finger ready on the trigger.

The open door revealed a shocked and dishevelled looking Lydia, cheeks stained with fresh tears that were still falling. Brunski was standing over her, a needle pressed into her neck, his finger in the plunger. Parrish had his gun levelled at Brunski almost immediately, me following closely behind.

'Drop it,' Parrish ordered as I prepared myself to fire. 'Take your thumb off that needle and slowly withdraw it from her neck.'

'Young Deputy,' Brunski said condescendingly, a quality to his voice that reminded me of a snake hissing at its prey. 'You're just a kid. I bet you've never even fired a...' He was cut off by the loud bang of a gunshot, though it didn't come from me. I was surprised as Parrish lowered his weapon and ran to untie Lydia. I guess he wasn't gun shy after all.

'He... He killed my grandmother,' Lydia choked out as Parrish freed her hands. I ran over to Stiles who was tied behind Lydia. I scanned his body quickly for any fatal wounds and was relieved when I found none. I untied his hands and helped him to stand. 'He was controlling Meredith,' Lydia continued.

'He used her to create the dead pool,' Stiles explained in a shaky voice.

'And killed her when she tried to help us,' Lydia finished. There was a sickly sound of strangled breaths from beside me and I turned around to see that Brunski was still alive, but barely.

'You... You think it was me?' he said after a cold laugh. 'That I was controlling her?' His words caused us to look to each other in confusion. 'Idiots...' he continued weakly. 'She was controlling me,' he said before letting out a breath for the final time.

'Oh, God. It's not him,' Lydia said. 'He's not The Benefactor.'

'No,' said a voice that until about ten seconds ago, I would have thought impossible to still exist. We all turned to see the most definitely alive figure of Meredith standing in the corner of the room 'And... He wasn't on my list. But he was a bad person.'

I felt every person in the room suck in a breath as Meredith walked towards us.

'You,' Lydia said, eyes still wide with shock. 'You're the benefactor.' Meredith didn't reply, but she didn't need to. She was the benefactor. I watched as Deputy Parrish took her by the arm and started to take her out of the room.

'Wait!' I yelled suddenly, my eyes focused on the Banshee. 'How did you know about me?' I asked in a panic. This must have been how I ended up on the list. Somehow, Meredith had predicted that I would come to Beacon Hills and had added me to the top of her deadpool.

'I saw you,' the girl said before she was escorted out of the room. Lydia shot me a rare sympathetic look before following the others outside. I stared at the open door for a second, trying to process what had just happened. We had found the benefactor. Did this mean it was all over?

'Hey Stiles, you okay?' I asked, turning to the teen who was leaning against the wall. He looked exhausted.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm fine,' he said, pushing away from the wall. I noticed his eyelids flutter as he did and the muscles in his legs seemed to turn to jelly for a second. I snapped my hand forward, grabbing his arm so he wouldn't fall to the ground.

'Hey, hey,' I said, concern clear in my voice as I tapped his face as if I was trying to wake him up. 'Stiles, you alright?' I asked him again. He shook my hand off of his arm and straightened himself up, only to wobble slightly again. My concern deepened as I grabbed his arm again.

'Hey, stop that!' he said, rolling his eyes at my motherly concern. 'I'm fine.'

'No, you're not,' I said bluntly, pushing down on his shoulders so he had no choice but to sink to the ground. I examined him again, thinking I must have missed an injury the first time. I then noticed a large bump that was forming on his head, likely to be from Brunski's fist, or possible the floor. 'I think you have a concussion,' I said as I prodded the bruise. He winced in pain. 'Come on, I'm driving you to the hospital.'

'What? No way!' He protested. 'I'm fine.'

'Clearly,' I commented sarcastically, 'but I think I'd prefer to hear it from a doctor,' I said as I pulled him off of the ground. 'Give me your keys,' I demanded and when he realised I wasn't taking no for an answer he huffed and handed them over.

He pulled away from me when I tried to aid him in walking. He didn't need my help in fact, but I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he didn't get checked out and something bad happened.

Once we were outside I told Stiles to wait in the car and made my way over to where Parrish and Lydia were waiting by the cruiser. Meredith was already in the back seat. Parrish pulled me aside.

'I'm taking Meredith to the station,' he told me. I bit my lip. Although I was no cop, there was a part of me that really wanted to be there when they questioned her. If I could get her to talk, maybe she could give me information on how she found out about what I was, and even give me intel on _him._

'I've gotta take Stiles to the hospital,' I said, selfishly regretting my offer to drive him.

'Don't worry, I'll make sure we try and get as much out of her as possible,' he said, having sensed my discomfort at not being able to be there. I smiled a little in gratitude, but it was tight and was more of a grimace. I nodded at him in thanks and headed over to Stiles' jeep.

* * *

'Melissa?' I said down my phone as I drove Stiles to the hospital. 'Hey, it's Alex.'

'Alex,' she greeted. 'What can I do for you?'

'I've got Stiles with me,' I said as I glanced over at the teen who was sulking in the passenger seat. He made a face at me and gestured to his ear, wanting me to hang up the phone whilst I was driving. 'I think he's got a concussion; can I leave him with you so he can get checked out?'

'Yeah, I'm at the hospital right now. I can meet you in the car park,' she said.

'Thanks, see you in five,' I replied before hanging up. 'How you doing?' I asked, sliding my phone back into my pocket and positioning both bands back on the steering wheel.

'I told you I'm fine,' he huffed, but I wasn't buying it.

'Seriously, what's going on with you?' I asked again, frustrated that he wasn't telling me.

'Nothing, I just…' he trailed off. 'Doesn't this just seem too easy?' he asked and I couldn't help but frown.

'Easy? Stiles, you and Lydia almost got killed,' I reminded him, not exactly sure what he was trying to say.

'I know, it's just that… with everything that's happened…' he paused, 'I'm not sure I really believe it's all over.' His comment made me think, and although I didn't tell him this, I kind of agreed with him. Now I thought about it, it did seem too easy. Just because we had caught the benefactor, did that mean that the assassins would stop hunting us. As long as they were still being payed, the deadpool was still very much alive.

* * *

After I dropped Stiles off at the hospital, I was planning on heading straight back to the station, but once again, I found myself interrupted. This time it was by the teen wolf himself.

'Scott, what's up?' I said down the phone as I walked along the darkened road. I had to leave Stiles' jeep at the hospital so I didn't have any transportation.

'Alex, hey, I uh… I didn't want to do this over the phone,' he said, causing me to frown.

'Why? What is it?' I asked, fear suddenly running through me.

'I have to show you something, it's important,' he said.

'Scott, what is it? You're really starting to freak me out,' I told him. He sighed down the phone.

'I'm not sure what it means, but uh… hey, I'll text you a photo, okay?' he said and I agreed, hanging up the phone. I waited impatiently for the message to arrive, and when it did, it wasn't what I was expecting at all.

It was a copy of the deadpool, the first list with the name Allison written at the top. Many of the names were crossed off, all of whom were dead. If I hadn't have studied this list as thoroughly as I had after it was pushed under my hotel room door, then I doubted I would have noticed the difference from the original. There was a name missing. But not just any name. In between the crossed out names of Demarco Montana and Carrie Hudson was a blank space. A place where a name should have been.

 _Derek Hale._

His name had vanished. But that wasn't all that was different. As I scanned the list again I noticed something else. My name, which was still at the very top, was now italicised, and instead of the number _25_ next to my name, indicating how much I was worth, all that was written was a dashed line. My price had been erased.

I stared at my phone screen, unable to move. If anyone was watching me they must have thought that I was having a stoke or something. For a few seconds it was hard to breathe, the confusion and terror suffocating me. The feelings displaced the air in my lungs and I gasped, trying to cram the oxygen into me was fast as possible.

I knew where I had to go now.

The rain had just started to spit when I changed my course, now heading for Derek's loft instead of the station. I jogged at first, then the adrenaline propelling me forward into a sprint. It was times like these when I thanked god I didn't tire like a regular person. It meant I could get places much faster without the hassle of sore limbs.

I made it to the loft relatively quickly, climbing the stairs two at a time. I slid the large door open, calling out to Derek that it was me when the alarm started to sound.

'Derek!' I called. 'Are you here?' I heard a click from behind me through the blaring of the alarm. I whirled around, only to be met with the barrel of a pistol, Derek's finger on the trigger. He lowered it immediately when he saw it was me and released a breath.

'Sorry, I uh…' he apologised. He was on edge, even more so than the last time I had seen him. This caused me to be even more anxious than I already was and I released a heavy breath of my own.

'It's okay,' I said eyeing the unfamiliar gun in his hand. 'Where did you get that?'

'Argent,' he said, placing the hand gun on the table and walking towards me. 'I'm glad you're here, I need to show you something,' he said and I frowned. Maybe Scott sent him the picture too. I nodded at him and followed him over to the couch. His signature leather jacket was draped over the back of it and he reached for it, pulling a folded piece of paper out of the pocket. He handed it to me, a solemn look in his emerald eyes.

I unfolded it slowly, unsurprised when I found a copy of the deadpool, though it wasn't the part I was expecting the see. It was the last part; the one Lydia had cracked. As I scanned it I realised I had never actually seen it before, though Stiles had mentioned the names that were on it to me. 'Why are you showing me this?' I asked softly as I looked up at him. He sighed heavily, before reaching out to the piece of paper and unfolding the very top of it. The name Derek was printed at the top. 'Your name broke the last third of the list?' I asked, not taking my eyes off of the five letters.

'Yeah,' he breathed.

'I thought the other two names were people who are dead,' I said, looking back up at him. He didn't meet my eyes as he took the piece of paper out of my hand, folding it up and dropping it onto the sofa.

'They were,' Derek said, sitting down and resting his elbows on his knees. He looked defeated.

'You don't seriously think that's why your name is a cypher key do you? That's crazy,' I said, though I wasn't sure if I believed my own words, especially after what Scott had sent me.

'Why? All three were names picked by Lydia. Names picked by a banshee,' he said, a pained look in his eye.

'It could mean that you're in danger. All we have to do is make sure we're ready if there's an attack,' I told him, trying hard not to sound to desperate.

'Alex, Banshees don't predict danger. They predict death,' he said as he stood up and walked away from me. I bit my lip, thinking about the reason I came here. I couldn't keep it from him, he needed to know.

'Derek,' I started and he turned around to face me. I sighed. 'I have to show you something.' I pulled out my phone and got up the photo Scott had sent me. As he scanned the list, his face changed from a frown to a look of confusion, and then fear. 'Scott sent it to me,' I explained. 'I don't know what it means.'

'My names not on the list anymore. I think it's pretty clear what that means,' he said, handing my phone back to me.

'It might not be what we think, it could mean someone's trying to protect you,' I tried, but it was like clutching at straws.

'I think we can both say with 99% certainty that's not true,' he replied.

'Listen,' I said, trying my best to think of something, anything to make the situation seem less apocalyptic. 'We gonna get through this, okay? All of us.' He looked at me with sombre eyes, but somewhere deep within them, I could see a spark of hope. 'We've just gotta be prepared for anything that's thrown at us.'

'What do we do?' He asked.

'We train. We prepare ourselves so we're ready for whatever happens.' He nodded once, agreeing to what I was saying, and that's exactly what we did. We trained, just like we had been doing for the past week.

He had improved since last time, the new, more prominent threat to his life fuelling a different kind of fire within him. Sooner than I would have liked he had me pressed to the wall, forearm firmly across my collar bone holding me in place.

'Good,' I told him in a voice that was out of breath. He nodded at me with an almost smile as he panted heavily too.

We stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as we recovered from our training. When he didn't immediately release me from his hold I found myself waiting for the awkwardness of our close proximity to materialise, but it never did. Instead, I found myself mesmerised by the greenness of his eyes and the intensity of his stare. His gaze was such that it seemed like he was staring right through me, but at the same time, watching every inch of my face so intently, like he was memorising it. We were so close now that I could feel his warm breath on my face. It didn't smell like wet dog like I had imagined it would from a werewolf, but held the aroma of spiced cinnamon infused with mint. I leaned in closer to him, inhaling as much of his delicious scent as I could into my lungs.

My mind raced as I told myself how wrong this was. I was supposed to hate this man, right? I should just push him away. But something deep within me was begging for him not to pull away. I wanted him to stay close to me. I relished his searing touch on my skin. Before I knew what was happening, Derek was leaning in, and I did nothing to stop him. Ten thousand thoughts ran through my mind at the idea of kissing him, mostly about how badly this could end, but before I had a chance to regret the decision, his lips had met mine, and little else seemed to matter. My eyes fell shut as our lips moulded together in the most strangely perfect way. I expected him to pull away at any minute, but to my surprise, the kiss only deepened. His hand moved from my collar bone to the wall behind me and the other came up to cup my cheek, pulling my face even closer to his. My hands instinctively went to his dark hair as I tangled my fingers into his locks and pressed my body to his, trying to get as close to him as possible, but still not feeling like we were close enough.

What was I doing? There was no way to recover from this now. Derek Hale and I had kissed, and now things would only get more complicated. I couldn't let myself fall, I couldn't let myself care about anyone too deeply. Anyone who I had ever cared about, anyone who I had ever loved, had been taken away from me, and I wasn't going to let it happen again.

So that was why, regrettably, I prised my lips away from Derek's, breaking the heated kiss. He tentatively rested his forehead against mine, still pinning me against the wall, as his eyebrows furrowed. He leant in again, perhaps to kiss me one more time, but before I could find out if he would, my hands moved to his chest and I gently, but definitely, pushed him away.

His frown deepened as I shifted out from between his arms. He stood stationary, before turning to me, but my eyes were locked on the ground in sudden fear of my ghosts and embarrassment at pulling away from him.

'Alex...,' he started, looking at me with concern and confusion, but I quickly cut him off.

'I have to go,' I said shakily, already feeling the beads of anxious sweat forming on my forehead and tears stinging my eyes. The anxiety and fear of letting someone in and being so close to someone in this way was overwhelming me and I felt a tightness in my chest squeezing the air out of my lungs. I turned from him and ran straight for the door, the fear erupting inside of me even before I had left the loft.

* * *

 **AN: AHHH so they finally kissed! And she freaked out... sorry for leaving you hanging a bit there ;)**

 **So its getting to the end of season 4 and I've got about 5 or 6 chapter left. What do you guys think about a sequel? Is it something you would be interested in reading? I've had a few ideas for it already but it would be great if you could let me know if you are interested as it kinda determines how I end this one.**

 **Hope you liked that chapter and are excited for the next one. Let me know what you thought. Much love x**


	21. Chapter 20 - Pushing And Being Pushed

**Two updates in two days! I just couldn't leave you hanging :)**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

It was raining much harder by the time I made it too the street, so much so that I could barely see three feet in front of me. I remembered then that I didn't have my car. It was still at the station. I would have to walk. But where? At this point my options were limited. I considered Stiles' place first, but that would mean having to come clean about what had happened between Derek and I and I was definitely not ready for that. Unfortunately, for the same reasons, this excluded Scott too. In my frantic state, I found myself running towards my apartment building. I knew it probably wasn't a good idea - the reasons for which were the same as to why I had spent the last week sleeping, or rather not sleeping, at the loft or on Scott or Stiles' couch - but I could simply see no other option.

I made it too the grotty car park quicker than I expected and soon I was unlocking the door to my apartment with the spare key I kept for these kind of emergencies, though I'd never encountered an emergency like this one that hadn't included having my shirt saturated in my own blood.

The apartment was dark and cold when I entered it. I hadn't realised how long I must have stayed at Derek's until then when the sun no longer lit up the living room. The door shut with a dull clang, leaving me alone in the silence.

In my mind I could hear Stiles' chastening words at me being there, in a place that _he_ could know I would be, but I was so worked up in that moment that I didn't care.

My clothes were completely soaked through from the rain now, chilling me right to the bone. My hair was so sodden and tangled that there was no way I would have been able to get a comb through it. I crazily clawed at it with my nails, trying to detangle the long threads but it was useless in my hysteria.

In that moment I hated everything about this town. I hated the nosey people and the idiotic deputies. I hated my small apartment that didn't make me feel safe. I hated the fact that I couldn't get through a day now without getting blood on my clothes. And I hated the deadpool. I couldn't stand the fact that people knew about me. I hated how easily I had let the people in this town get under my skin, and I hated Derek Hale. I hated the way he could raise my pulse just by looking at me. I hated how much I had come to care and worry about whether he would be okay. I hated how good his lips had felt on mine less than an hour ago. And I hated myself for being so cowardly that I had to run away from him.

I collapsed to the floor in a mess of wet hair and tears, curling up in a ball on the hard wood floor. I knew that one day I would crack, that one day, all the horrible memories from my past would catch up with me, and I wouldn't be surprised if I found myself in Eichen house first thing tomorrow morning.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there in that position. The seconds and minutes seemed to blur together in the same way the tears blurred my vision. Through the pounding of the rain on the windows, I could hear the thud of footsteps outside my door. I looked up at it in fear, sniffling pathetically to try and stifle my sobs. I rose from my position and wiped my eyes with a shaky hand. The door, as I had forgotten to lock it, swung open, revealing a figure framed by the door. It was Derek, concern written across his face at the sight of my broken form.

He slowly made his way into the room, careful not to make any sudden movements. When he was halfway across the room a sudden wave of fear ran through me and jumped back, my back slamming against the wall is I tried to disappear into it. I could hear his footsteps quicken as he said my name, trying to comfort me, to understand, but I was no longer seeing him. I was back in the apartment I shared with Dylan nearly 3 years ago. I could almost see Dylan writhing on the floor, battling to break free from the men who held him as he screamed for me to run. And Derek was no longer Derek. His figure had morphed into the man in my nightmares. My memories were jumbled and I wasn't recalling them all in the right order. Dylan had disappeared now, leaving just me and the one person I feared most in the world. He whispered under his breath, describing how he would kill every one of my friends in the most horrible ways. I squeezed my eyes shut and rammed my hands over my ears, trying the block out his voice. But now he was in my head, his voice hard like nails and sticky like blood.

 _I'm coming for you_.

All I could hear we're those words over and over again. My eyes snapped open and I pushed at the figure who was standing in front of me. They stumbled back, only to come closer to me again, reaching out to touch my arm.

'Get away from me!' I screamed at him cowering further into the wall as new tears run down my cheeks.

'Alex, it's me,' the figure said in a quiet, worried voice, trying again to comfort me.

'Don't touch me!' I screamed again, but this time it was more of a whimper as I slid down the wall to the ground, bringing my knees right into my chest.

'It's okay, it's me, it's Derek,' he said. I looked up at him through my soaked eyelashes as he crouched down beside me.

'Derek?' I said in the smallest voice. His brow was furrowed into a concerned frown, an expression he seemed to wear a lot around me.

'You're okay,' he said gently as he pulled my shaking body into his arms and held me as the tears continued to fall, 'everything's going to be okay.'

He held me like that for a long time. Then, he carefully lifted me up and took me to my room where he placed me on the bed.

'We can't stay here,' I mumbled sleepily, exhausted from all my hysterics, 'it's not safe.'

'Don't worry,' he replied as my eyes fell shut, 'I won't let anything hurt you.' Then I slipped into an almost peaceful oblivion.

* * *

The rain had stopped pounding on the windows by the time I awoke, though it was still dark outside. I guessed it to be maybe four in the morning. I felt strangely comforted by the fact that I was in my own bed, and also because of the sleeping Derek sitting on the end of it. He was still in his leather jacket, his head resting against the wall. A small smile spread across my face at the sight of him. He had stayed here all night.

I waited, watching his chest steadily rise and fall. I didn't feel like staying in bed much longer but I didn't want to wake him. He looked so…peaceful. It was a rare occurrence to see him without a frown on his face, but now, his usually furrowed brow lay flat. I carefully pulled back the covers, wriggling my legs out from underneath them. It was a little tricky considering he was sitting on top of them. Slowly, I edged my way across the mattress, finally able to sit on the edge of my bed. I sat there for a while, face resting in my hands as full recall of the events of the previous night hit me.

Derek and I had kissed.

I wasn't sure what was more humiliating. The fact that I had run away from Derek as if I was an eighth grader who had been kissed in the school yard or the fact that afterwards, I pretty much had a mental breakdown in front of him. There was only one thing I was certain of; I didn't want him to wake up anytime soon. But much to my dismay, as I stood from the bed, the matrass pinged and the tired werewolf's eyelids fluttered open. I sat back on the bed.

'Hey,' he said softly, a small smile on his lips.

'Hi,' I replied as I chewed on my lip. It was quiet for a long time. I stared at my hands, picking at the nails whilst I felt his eyes on me. I felt awkward about the whole situation, but most of all embarrassed.

'You okay?' he asked, but I was sure he already knew the answer, so I didn't reply. 'Oh, here,' he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of car keys. My keys. 'I picked it up from the station last night,' he said as I took the bundle of keys from his hand.

'Thanks,' said quietly and he nodded before we drifted into silence. 'Sorry for freaking out on you yesterday,' I said after a beat, still staring at my hands.

'Don't be, it wasn't your fault,' he said and I frowned. Did he think it was his? 'I'm sorry that I… I mean I shouldn't have…' he rambled and I looked back at him. He had pulled away from the wall he was leaning against and was sitting next to me. His fingers were laced in his lap, mimicking mine. 'I'm not good at this,' he admitted and I snorted quietly.

'Yeah, me neither.' I felt pathetic. I didn't want him thinking any of this was his fault. I didn't freak out because of him. I freaked out because of me. He needed to know. 'Everyone around me gets hurt,' I said. I felt his gaze on the side of my face. 'That's why I don't let myself care,' I continued. 'Because if a care, it's too hard.'

'You don't have to explain yourself to me,' he said suddenly as he stood up, a flash of hurt in his emerald eyes. I was shocked by his sudden movement and stood up with him.

'Yes I do,' I said as I looked him in the eye for the first time that morning, but now he was the one avoiding my gaze.

'No you don't, I understand,' he said, heading out of my room. I was thoroughly confused now. He had kissed me, watched me break down and then stayed in my room all night. Didn't he want to hear what I had to say?

'Derek?' I said as I followed him out of the room. He was already by the door. 'Can I just explain?' I asked with a frown.

'You don't have to explain anything, okay!' he shouted. He looked hurt, the way I was feeling right now, and that confused me. We looked away from each other and I heard him sigh. 'Look, let's just forget it ever happened,' he suggested and my eyes snapped up to look at him again. His face held something of regret, and I couldn't tell whether it was for what he had just said or for the kiss.

I wasn't sure what to think about what he had said. Did I want to forget about it? Sure, it did freak me out a little, but only because I was afraid to let myself care. Who was I kidding? I already did care, and that was what scared me the most. So I answered my question: No. I didn't want to forget about the kiss. But if that was what he wanted, I wasn't going to stop him.

He didn't wait for my reply. With a shake of his head that I think was more to himself then to me, he was out of my apartment, the door slamming loudly as he went.

I didn't understand it then. I couldn't fathom why he would leave like that in the middle of the night. My eyes stung with the anticipation of new tears, but I was all cried out from the night before. I was strangely thankful when the sound of my phone ringing cut through the silence and I answered immediately.

'Hello?' I greeted and I was surprised at how crackly and strained my voice sounded.

'Hey Alex, it's Parrish,' the deputy greeted.

'Oh hey,' I said, wondering why he was calling. Then it hit me. 'What did Meredith say? Did she say anything about me?' I asked quickly.

'No, nothing yet. She hasn't spoken a word since she got here,' he replied.

'Oh,' I said, not sure how to reply.

'Are you okay? You sound a little…off' he asked and I squeezed my eye shut.

'Yeah, no I'm fine,' I mumbled. 'Call me if she says anything.'

'Got it,' he replied before he hung up.

I stood in the living room for a long time, phone still pressed to my ear as I barely moved. What was going on with me? I needed to snap out of whatever was happening and stop feeling sorry for myself.

I threw my phone onto the couch and walked to the bathroom, hopping in the shower immediately. It was just what I needed. Within the next thirty minutes, I was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a blue crop top, my boots and leather jacket and was heading down the stairs of my apartment building. Of course, I hadn't forgotten to bring my Glock that was securely held in the back of my jeans.

I wasn't sure where I was going exactly when I started up my car, but maybe that was what I needed. To drive around for a while by myself, trying to forget about everything. It was hard though. Everything that had happened, even before I moved to Beacon Hills, was likely going to haunt me forever. Would there ever by a time when I closed my eyes and didn't feel like I was being buried alive? Would I ever be able to care for someone without being terrified that someone would hurt them? Would I ever be able to kiss someone without hearing _his_ voice in my head, telling me he was coming to get me.

I pulled up next to the sidewalk, wanting nothing more than to sink into a peaceful sleep and not wake up until all this shit was over. I was once again pulled from my thoughts when my phone rang.

'What?' I asked harshly down the phone, immediately regretting it when I heard Scott apologising down the other end.

'Sorry, did I wake you?' he asked. 'I didn't think you'd be asleep.'

'No, I wasn't,' I said, rubbing a hand over my face. 'Is everything okay?' I asked, but with everything that was going on I knew it was a stupid question.

'I'm not sure,' he said and I frowned. 'I think I need your help.' He explained to me what Kira had been up to, how she had rescued Brett and his sister again and how she had found the rest of the people on the deadpool who were still alive. Scott needed my help to keep them that way. 'I'll text you the address,' he said, referring to the place he was taking them. He wanted me to meet them there. We said our goodbyes before we hung up. I swiftly pulled off of the side walk and drove to the destination, feeling slightly less helpless than I did before.

* * *

Scott was waiting for me when I arrived, along with Kira and a group of people I didn't know. As I approached them, I spotted the faces of two that I did recognise. The first was Satomi. The second was a teen I had helped save from Violet a few weeks ago. It was Brett. A shorter girl clung to his arm, and I guessed it must be his sister. We shared a look before I turned to face Scott.

'So what's the plan?' I asked the alpha.

'We take them inside, and then we wait,' he replied.

'Wait for who?' I asked as I stared at the large warehouse looking building we were standing next to. 'Who's place is this?'

'It's Argent's,' he told me and I nodded, though I wasn't sure how the hunter would feel about a group of supernatural creatures squatting in his place.

We lead the group inside. It was just like a warehouse, paper and boxes littering the large room. Plastic sheets were hung everywhere and I wondered how anyone could live here.

Suddenly the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air caught my attention and we all turned to see Chris Argent with a hand gun pointed to Brett's head. The teen had his werewolf fangs bared, eyes glowing a spectacular amber.

'Wait! Wait! Brett!' Scott yelled after the young beta. 'This is his place. It's his.' The werewolf backed off immediately, walking back to join the group.

'Scott... If you bring in guests, you could have called,' Argent said as he approached us, eyeing Kira and I warily as we stood next to Scott.

'I didn't have anywhere else to take them,' Scott replied with a sigh.

'I know this man,' a new voice said as Satomi approached us. 'He may not remember, but we've met before.'

'You can trust him. I trust him,' Scott assured her.

'So do I,' I agreed sincerely. Argent nodded back at me as if to tell me that he returned my trust.

'How do we know he's not like the others?' Satomi questioned.

'What others?' Chris asked, echoing my thoughts.

'Last night, there was a whole team after them. And they used crossbows,' Kira said, holding up an arrow for Argent to examine.

'They're hunters, aren't they?' I asked.

'Not if they're killing for profit. Not anymore,' Argent replied.

'Can they find us?' Brett asked. His sister was clinging to his arm again in fear, and although he was trying not to show it, I could see the same fear in his eyes. In fact, I could sense the fear from every single person in this room, including myself.

'They might already know you're here,' Chris said. 'Maybe they're waiting for dark.'

'So we're not safe here?' Kira asked.

'We're not safe anywhere. We've been trying to get out for days. Everywhere we turn, we find someone new trying to kill us,' Satomi said and I felt a twist of sadness for the older alpha in my chest.

'If they're coming, they're coming for you too,' Argent said, eyeing Scott and I. 'Both of you. You're still number one on the deadpool.'

'I know,' Scott replied. 'I know Lydia can get the answer from Meredith. She just needs more time.'

'Then that's what she'll get,' Chris replied. He left the group and walked over to where he had a large chest of weapons. I followed him over.

'We've been wondering where you got to,' I said as I leant against the wall. He looked up at me from his crouched position.

'I've been busy,' he said, and I wasn't going to press him for more information. He clearly didn't want to share. 'Here,' he said, handing me a semi-automatic shot gun. 'I'm assuming you can handle one of these,' he said and I took it from him with a nod, answering his question.

'Thanks,' I mumbled to the hunter.

'I'm usually the last man to be handing out guns, but if they do come tonight, you and Scott are going to be their main targets,' he said.

'I'm not so sure about that,' I said, pulling out my phone and showing him the photo of the 'updated' version of the deadpool that Scott had sent me the day before.

'This doesn't mean they aren't still after you,' he said as he frowned at the photo.

'What does it mean?' I asked.

'It means that Meredith, or whoever she is working with, knows that you can't be killed,' he replied. I nodded at him and pulled away from the wall. I was about to walk away from him but he called me back.

'He talked about you,' he said and I turned around to meet his face.

'Excuse me?' I questioned.

'Dylan… he talked about you,' he said sombrely. I frowned at him disbelievingly. 'I'm sorry I didn't mention it before; I didn't realise it was you until after we talked.'

'What are you talking about?' I asked.

'He only ever referred to you as 'A', so I only connected the dots recently,' he said. 'He was proud of you, Alex.' I could feel the tears starting to prick in my eyes and I wiped them quickly, not wanting to show any weakness to the hunter. I could see his eyes glistening too, though I doubted it was more to do with his late daughter than anything. 'I'm sorry you lost him.'

'I'm sorry too,' I started. 'About Allison.' He nodded and I sent him a sad smile before I left him to sort through the weapons.

* * *

To my irritation, I wasn't the only person Scott had called for help. Later on, whist we were all anxiously waiting for an attack we weren't sure was coming, Derek Hale himself had turned up to lend a hand. We had been avoiding each other for hours, and to say it was awkward would be the understatement of the century.

I watched him as he eyed the group of misfit supernaturals wearily, trying to focus on prepping my weapon and not thinking about the kiss we had shared less than twenty-four hours ago.

'They'll be okay,' Scott said as he approached Derek.

'They've got claws and fangs. But they're not fighters,' Derek replied, and despite how irritated I felt, I had to agree with him.

'That's why I called you,' Scott replied.

'Well, try to remember I don't have claws and fangs anymore either,' he said, picking up a handgun from the chest and walking away from the teen wolf.

'That's why he called me first,' I said with a smirk as I joined their conversation. Derek sent me an annoyed look that turned into an icy staring match between us as we tried not to be the first to look away.

'Am I the only one still hoping this is all just a false alarm?' Kira said. 'I mean, it's possible we could wait here all night and nothing happens. Right?' The girl had a point, but I just didn't think we would get that lucky.

'Scott, you heard anything from Stiles or Lydia yet?' I asked, wondering how the teen and the strawberry blonde were getting on, but also as I hoped he would have more information on the Meredith situation.

'Lydia's still talking to Meredith. Stiles and Malia are headed to the lake house,' Scott explained. 'They're trying to stop it.'

'What if there is no stopping it?' Brett said from behind me and we all turned to face him. His question made my stomach churn and my heart pound in my chest. 'What if it doesn't end until we're all dead?' he asked. What if it doesn't end until I'm the only one left?

'Then let's send a message,' Derek said, and I turned to look at him. 'Let's make something perfectly clear to anyone with a copy of that list. It doesn't matter if they're professional assassins, hunters, or an amateur who just picked up a gun. Anyone who thinks they can hunt and kill us for money, is gonna be put on another list, our list,' he said. He glanced at me and our eyes met for a second. I could see the passion and determination in his eyes. He paused, perhaps to make his next sentence seem more dramatic. 'They get to be a name on our dead pool.'

After Derek's little motivational talk, we went back to preparing ourselves. 'What are you doing?' a voice said from behind me. I spoke without looking away from what I was doing.

'Loading a gun,' I said blankly to Derek who huffed loudly. I was sure that he rolled his eyes too.

'You know what I mean,' he said, clearly irritated at my nonchalant demeanour.

'No Derek, I really don't,' I said, pushing past him and over to where the ammunition was. As I did he reached a hand out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back so I was facing him. 'Let go of me,' I demanded harshly.

'Not until you tell me what's going on with you,' he said through gritted teeth.

'I'm pretending like nothing happened, isn't that what you wanted?' I said, yanking my arm out of his grip.

'Yeah, I thought that was what you wanted?' he said and I looked away from him. 'Alex?' he asked quietly and I couldn't stand to be this close to him anymore. I pulled away from him again and this time he didn't stop me.

I walked over to the stack of ammunition and took out a few more rounds, loading them into the chamber. As I did, I dropped one on the floor. The bullets bounced out of it and tinkled along the floor, causing me to groan in annoyance. In my frustration, I kicked the box of ammunition with my boot, causing it to clang loudly, catching the attention of a couple of werewolves I didn't know. I glared at them and they looked away.

'Hey, hey,' Scott called as he jogged over to me. 'Alex, you okay?' he asked with a frown as he took in my irritated and pissed off form.

'Why does everyone keep asking me that? Am I giving off some kind of 'I'm in a shitty mood' vibe or something today?!' I asked to no one in particular.

'Sort of, yeah,' the teen wolf replied and I was surprised at his bluntness. 'Though you kind of give off that vibe every day,' he mumbled as an afterthought and I glared at him from under my lowered eyelashes. 'What's going on with you and Derek?' he asked and I tensed. 'I saw you two arguing.'

'There's nothing going on between me and Derek,' I said, though to me, the sentence meant something a little different to what I assumed Scott was talking about. 'We always argue.'

'But not like that,' Scott said and I sighed.

'Scott, it's nothing. Would you just drop it please?' I asked and he nodded reluctantly.

'Sure. Sorry, I uh… guess I'll leave you to it,' he replied. Before he had the chance to walk away, a high pitched alarm sounded and Scott and I shared a look of terror.

'They're here!' I heard Chris shout over the beeping before everything turned to chaos.

* * *

 **AN: So Derek is being a sour wolf and Alex is in a mood... so nothing out of the ordinary.**

 **I decided to update again today as I won't be able to again for a little while, but don't worry, I'll be back :)**

 **Thanks for the reviews I got for the last chapter. I am having more and more thoughts for a sequel every day so fingers crossed I will hopefully be able to write something you will enjoy.**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love x**


	22. Chapter 21 - Falling

I was overwhelmed with the strangest of feelings. It was almost like Déjà vu, except this wasn't just a feeling. I knew. The feeling came over me suddenly, like a realisation or epiphany, and it was so strong that I could feel my heart rate pick up and beads of sweat starting to roll down my forehead. I momentarily found myself back in my old apartment, reliving the dream I had last week of that fateful night. Back then there was someone telling me to run, to leave them and save myself. Back then I almost listened as the men dressed in all black swarmed into the apartment. But back then I was protecting myself, and now, as a two grenades bounced along the floor, I realise I wasn't just fighting for myself, I was fighting for them, the people on the deadpool, and more importantly, the people I cared about.

'Get back!' I yelled as the grenades exploded, filling the warehouse with thick smoke. I saw Scott and Kira throw themselves to the ground as another went off, and I ran behind a pillar, checking the chamber of my gun again. It was full. Then the firing started. It was constant, like the pattering of rain on a window, except the rain were bullets and the sound ripped through the air like thunder. I peeked out from behind the pillar to see Derek behind another. He had his pistol held up in front of him, ready to fire.

That's when I saw them: a group of men dressed all in black. They had machine guns and were raining the bullets down on all of us through the fog that had now filled the whole room. I ran out from my hiding stop, firing a few rounds of my own with the shot gun before I joined Derek. We were back to back now so we could cover each other, turning around to cover all angles.

'How many are there?' he yelled to me over the noise of gunfire.

'Too many!' I yelled back. One of them appeared out of the fog and I didn't hesitate to fire, shooting him down instantly.

I spotted Scott across the large room as he ran through the chaos. His shoulder jerked suddenly and I could just about make out a spirt of blood flying through the air. He had been hit, but from the looks of it, it didn't affect him like it would a normal werewolf. I didn't realise it then, but that was first time I truly saw the power he had as a true alpha.

'We should split up,' Derek shouted to me. 'It will help us cover more ground.'

'What? Derek, no. It's too dangerous!' I yelled to him. Despite what was (or wasn't for that matter) going on between us, there was no way I was leaving him.

'It's dangerous for everyone!' he yelled to me as another one of the attackers came round the corner. I was ready to fire, but Derek beat me to it, and after a few shots, the man was on the ground. I nodded reluctantly and without thinking, I took his hand and squeezed it in my own.

'Be careful,' I said so quietly I was surprised he heard it. He squeezed my hand back and with one last look, he ran into the smoke.

I ran in the opposite direction, dodging bullets that were coming at me from all angles. One guy come up to me so close that I jammed the butt of my gun into his ribs, causing him to cower over, before punching him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

'Brett? Brett, where are you?' I heard a voice say from behind me. I spun around to see Brett's sister looking around helplessly for her brother. I was about to run to her when an explosion erupted from right beside me, flinging me several metres to the right. The impact had cracked a few ribs, but as I pulled myself to my feet, I felt then snap back into place as the adrenaline pumped through my veins.

Gunshots and screaming filled the air as I ran back into the chaos. I searched around for Brett's sister but the air was so full of dust that it was impossible to see. Suddenly out of nowhere, a body slammed into me, sending both of us to the ground. The attacker climbed on top of me, sending a couple of punches to my face. He was stronger than me, much stronger, but I used that to my advantage. I used all my energy to flip us over, so I was now on top of him. To my annoyance, he pushed me off of him and I stumbled backwards, cracking my head on the floor. This didn't faze me much and we were both back on out feet in a second. I kicked his face with my boot and he lurched backwards a few feet. He then retaliated with a hard punch to my stomach before pulling out a pistol. I tried to move out of the way when he fired, but was to slow. The bullet caught me in the left thigh, causing me to fall to my knees.

'That one hurt,' I seethed through gritted teeth as I glared at the man.

He smiled evilly as he approached me, pressing the barrel of the gun right to my forehead like he was taunting me. I knew the bullet wouldn't kill me, well it would, but not permanently. That wasn't the point though. If he shot me, I would be out of action until I woke up, and in a situation like this, I didn't want that to happen. I squeezed my eyes shut as he held his finger ready on the trigger. To my surprise, the darkness never came, only the popping sound of another gun. The man fell to the ground dead. I snapped my head to the right, seeing the familiar face of Chris Argent lowering his weapon. I sent him a nod of thanks which he returned as if to say 'you're welcome.'

I clambered to my feet, digging my fingers into the bullet wound in my leg, fishing out the small metal object. It healed almost instantly. Before I could reach for the dead attacker's gun, there was a noise that sounded like a phone chiming. Slowly, the sound of gunfire began to die down until there was nothing but silence. Confused, I reached down into the pocket of the man and pulled out his phone. There was a message from The Benefactor:

 _All contracts terminated._

They had done it. Somehow, Stiles, Malia and Lydia had managed to stop the payment, thus ending the deadpool for good. I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped my lip as I dropped the phone to the ground and walked over to where the rest of the group were congregating.

'Is it over? Really over?' Kira asked Scott as we looked around the warehouse that was littered with bodies. We were on in some kind of daze, the fact that it _was_ over not having fully hit us yet. Before Scott had time to answer, there was a click. The sound of a gun being loaded. I whipped my head around, trying to locate the source, and to my horror, there was a man still here, clearly having not got the message that he was no longer getting paid. He raised his gun and I followed his line of sight.

It met an oblivious looking Derek.

What happened next seemed to all take place in slow motion. I sprinted through the crowd of supernaturals, though it felt like I was wading through treacle. 'Derek!' I screamed, trying to get his attention so he would move out of the way of the bullet that was sure to come at any second. He looked over to me as realisation washed over his face. It was too late. The gunman had already released the bullet from the barrel. I was nearly beside him and I acted fast, diving on top of the green eyed wolf as the sniper's bullet ripped through me. I was dead before I hit the ground.

* * *

I could feel something uncomfortable lodged in my throat as I began to regain consciousness. As I pealed my eyes open, I coughed violently as I felt the thing edge up my oesophagus. Soon it was in my mouth and I pulled it out from between my teeth. It was a bullet. I threw it on the floor in disgust as I coughed again.

'Alex,' I heard the worried voice of Scott say. I looked up at him, noticing I was now lying on the couch in Derek's loft instead of the warehouse floor. 'How do you feel?'

'Like I just got shot,' I said and he chuckled. I looked passed him to see a worried looking Kira. I smiled at her reassuringly and she returned it, though hers was filled more with relief than anything. Across from me sitting on the coffee table was Derek. He had his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. At the sound of my voice, his head snapped up and he stood up, coming to my side.

'Alex, god, you scared me,' he said looking at me in the severe way he always did. I smiled at him a little as I sat up.

'I'm okay, really,' I reassured him though he didn't look convinced. I noticed Scott smirk out of the corner of my eye as Derek took my hand and squeezed it. 'How did they do it?' I asked suddenly. 'How did they stop the payments?'

'Stiles and Malia went down to the lake house,' Scott explained. 'There was a computer there that was making all the payments, turns out Lydia's grandmother predicted the deadpool all those years ago.'

'What about Meredith?' I asked, a little desperate. 'Why did she do it?' Scott sighed as if he was reluctant to tell me.

'It was Peter's idea,' Derek said. He sounded like he wanted to be angry but was just too exhausted. I was about to say something along the lines of 'that son of a bitch' but Scott cut me off.

'Peter and Meredith were in the hospital at the same time. Meredith somehow overheard his thoughts about wanting to kill all the supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills,' Scott explained. 'She had Brunski steal the bearer bonds from the vault and put the whole thing in motion.'

'What about Peter? Where is he?' I asked.

'He says he can't remember any of it,' Kira explained. 'The Sherriff had him at the station but there was no evidence that didn't mention the words banshee or werewolf. They had to let him go.' I wanted to ask more, find out if Meredith had said anything about me, but I couldn't. Not right now. I doubted they would know anyway. I supposed I would have to call Parrish in the morning.

'I'm gonna take Kira home,' the teen wolf said after a few minutes of silence and I could have sworn I saw him wink at me. I internally rolled my eyes. The pair walked to the door and Scott put his arm around his girlfriend as if to comfort her as he pressed his lips to her hair. I couldn't help but feel warm inside as I witnessed the sweet affection that shined through their young love. Then they were gone and Derek and I were left alone.

'I think I might take off too,' I said as I rose to my feet and headed towards the door.

'Wait,' Derek said and I turned around to face him. 'You don't have to go,' Derek said quietly as he approached me. He moved slowly as if he were scared that if he made any sudden movements, I would run away from him in terror. 'Thank you,' he said and I frowned. 'For saving my life.'

'I would hardly call it that,' I said flippantly, though I didn't back away from him.

'Alex, what you did…' he trailed off.

'Look, I know you hate me and everything, but that doesn't mean I was just gonna watch you die,' I said. 'I would have done it for anybody.'

'Alex, I don't hate you,' he said with a frown.

'Well you sure as hell made it clear that you don't give a damn about anything that's happened between us!' I yelled, referring to the kiss.

'I only said that because I thought that's what you wanted!' he yelled back.

'What? Why on earth did you think that was what I wanted?' I asked.

'You said yourself that you don't care about anyone! I just assumed that…' I cut him off with a sigh.

'You didn't let me finish,' I said softly. 'I do care about you, Derek,' I admitted. 'I care about you a lot.' He stared at me as we stood in silence, neither of us saying a word. I felt embarrassed now. I had finally admitted my feelings to him, and to myself for that matter, and he didn't know what to say. He clearly didn't return the feelings. I sighed again as I turned around to leave, tears forming in my eyes. I let them fall this time, not caring if anyone saw me cry. We had all been through hell today that I was beyond caring whether I seemed strong or not.

'Alex…' Derek finally said from behind me. I sighed harshly as I whipped my head around, angry tears slipping down my cheeks.

'What…' I started to yell, but was cut off by his lips smashing against mine. I was taken by surprise by the sudden contact but nonetheless, I responded immediately, wrapping my arms around his neck as his snaked around my waist. This kiss deepened as he pulled me closer to him, our bodies pressing up against each other. It felt so right to be this close to him and I gripped at his shirt in fear he would break the kiss. But he didn't. He walked us towards the bed, our lips still moulded together as we continued to kiss. He sat down on the bed, pulling me between his legs as my hands cupped his face, running my fingers over his rough stubble. He pulled away from me slightly and I rested my forehead against his.

'I'm sorry about everything I said before,' he said between breaths. 'I don't know what I was…'

'Derek,' I said, cutting him off.

'Yeah?' he asked.

'Shut up,' I said as I pushed him onto the bed so I was straddling him, pressing my lips to his again to continue the kiss. I felt him smile into the kiss and I couldn't help but smile back as his hands trailed down my back and rested on my waist. He suddenly flipped us over so he was on top and I pulled on his t shirt to bring his lips back down to mine. Soon his hands were under my crop top, but remaining on my waist. I could tell he was being careful not to move them any further so I broke the kiss and pulled the blood stained top over my head, telling him it was okay. He pulled his shirt over his head too, revealing that beautiful physique I had tried to ignore a week ago. Now, though, I didn't hesitate run my hands over his muscular chest and down his back, pulling him closer to me.

He left my lips and started to kiss my cheek where the tears had been not long ago. The memory of them was far away now and I realised that I didn't care about anything else in that moment. Just him. He trailed kisses down my neck and I moaned when he let one of his hands brush the side of my body.

I bit my lip slightly, not sure if I would regret what we were doing in the morning. It wasn't like I had never done this with a guy before. I had just never done it with a guy that I cared about this much before. I had barely known him for a month. Would this ruin everything?

However, I found my internal debate sink away into oblivion when he stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes with his emerald green ones. The ones I loved so much. He was the first person I had met in this town I remembered, although he happened to only be sixteen at the time. He brushed a stray piece of dark hair out of my face and just looked at me, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. In that moment, I found myself forgetting all my qualms about whether this was the right decision and kissed him again. We carried on and I knew that there was no way I would regret it in the morning.

 **AN: So I'm back! And yay! Derek and Alex made up :)**

 **Just as a reply to a guest review for the last chapter: I know that I've left you all hanging with the whole 'what is Alex' and 'why is she how she is' thing but I just wanted to say don't worry! All will be revealed! Eventually... I don't want to give too much away but this is going to be one of the main plot lines for the sequel. Hope this clears up any issues but feel free to drop me a message if you have anymore questions.**

 **Also, was wondering what everyone's favourite chapter has been so far and why?**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and are excited for the next one! Let me know what you thought! Much love x**


	23. Chapter 22 - Visitor In The Night

The rain drummed on the large window. A flash of lightning ignited the loft air for a fraction of a second before it vanished. I lay under the covers, the green eyed wolf right beside me sleeping soundlessly. His arms were snaked around my waist protectively, though we both knew I was more than capable of taking care of myself. It felt good though, nice. Somehow in laying with him, feeling the steady beat of his heart pounding through his chest, I felt calm. Perhaps because I knew he was here, and alive.

I lay perfectly still as to not wake him. He needed to rest, it had been a long day. I had contemplated falling asleep myself but I didn't want to ruin a perfect evening with nightmares and screams. So I let him fall asleep as I lay awake with nothing to do but listen to the steady thumping of his heart and the rain on the glass.

It had been maybe two hours since Derek had fallen asleep. Even though from our positions I couldn't see his face, I knew he had drifted off when his breathing became steady. I myself had tried to steady mine as much as possible too – I didn't want him to feel as though he had to stay up with me, he needed his sleep. I thought about what might happen when he awoke. Would we talk about what we did? Would we act like nothing happened? I hoped not. Would the others know? Would they even care? I wasn't sure what I would tell them if they did. What were Derek and I now? Boyfriend and girlfriend? I gagged at the thought – it sounded so cheesy and superficial. Unless you count this one time in fourth grade, I had never really had a proper boyfriend. Sure I had made out with my fair share of guys at high school parties and had embarrassing one night stands over the past few years, but never anything where I had cared this much. The thought of it consumed me and I found myself unable to breathe for a few seconds. I guess I'll just tell people it's complicated.

'This is so pathetic,' I had thought to myself. There was no way I was allowing myself to freak out again. I knew in my head and my heart that I regretted nothing. Derek was someone I cared about deeply, someone who apparently I would take I bullet for. That hadn't changed since yesterday. Nothing had changed. _Everything had changed._

I felt him stir behind me, his arm momentarily tightening around my waist before letting go again, as if he was checking I was still there. His breathing picked up a little, changing from its before steady beat. I was sure he was awake now, and I think he knew I was too. I could feel his emerald gaze on my cheek.

'Alex,' he whispered softly. 'You awake?'

'No,' I replied sarcastically and I heard him release a chuckle before he pressed his lips to the back of my head.

'Have you slept at all?' he asked, volume still low.

'You know I don't need to,' I said, my hand finding his as I laced our fingers together.

'I also know you get nightmares. Is that why you won't sleep?' he asked, his voice still soft and caring.

'Something like that,' I replied. He traced a finger up my bare arm until he reached my shoulder where he rubbed it soothingly. I snuggled into his chest further, loving the way his arms enveloped me protectively. I had never felt so safe. 'You should get some rest,' I whispered.

Suddenly, the sound of the alarm rang through the loft, causing both Derek and I to sit up in shock. I looked at Derek who wore a look of deep concern on his face. I slid out of the bed, the cold air in the room hitting my almost naked form as I grabbed the shot gun from the night stand. I was glad that Derek and I had slipped on our undergarments before we fell asleep so I didn't feel too self-conscious. That being said, it did feel weird creeping around his loft holding a gun wearing nothing but my underwear.

Derek was by my side now, pistol held up in front of him, pointing to the door. I edged my way towards the door, my hand ready to pull it open. I looked to Derek who nodded at me to do it. I yanked it open as fast as I could as Derek held his gun ready to fire.

I watched as Derek lowered his weapon when he saw who it was, a frown on his face. I quickly looked around him and was surprised when I saw Lydia. She was dripping wet from head to toe, her sodden hair darkened by the rain. Her face held an expression that reminded me of Meredith, or a ghost. Her eyes were wild with fright as she stared at us, though I didn't think she was really _seeing_ us at all.

'Lydia?' I said as I approached the girl, but Derek held out a hand to stop me, telling me to keep back. We both watched the banshee before us for a long moment before she opened her mouth and screamed.

The sound pierced the air like a knife, stabbing at our ear drums in long hard thrusts. We both grabbed our heads, as if that would make it go away but I didn't. It continued to bounce off the walls like bullets ricocheting off the concrete and amplifying the noise until it was almost unbearable.

Then it was silent.

Derek and I exchanged a look of trepidation before we looked back at the girl. An exhausted looking Lydia slumped to the ground, though she didn't seem to have lost consciousness. Derek knelt next to her, snapping his fingers in front of her face to see if she was responsive.

'God, she's freezing,' he said as he squeezed her shoulders. I stood there, unmoved from my position, staring at the strawberry blonde girl. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread that I had felt building inside of me since Scott had sent me the new version of the deadpool. What I had been denying for too long now had just been confirmed as if it had slapped me in the face.

Banshees predict death.

Derek wasn't in danger. _Derek was going to die._

'Alex,' Derek said, snapping me out of my daze and I thought from his uneasy expression that it wasn't the first time he had called my name to get my attention. I rushed over to the two of them, grasping Lydia by the upper arms and lifting her to her feet.

'We need to get her inside,' I told Derek. 'Can you go grab some towels?' I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible, whereas in reality, I was shitting bricks on the inside. He nodded and left us to get what I needed.

I walked Lydia over to the couch, grabbing one of Derek's t shirts on the way and pulling it over my head. Once she was sat down I situated myself on the coffee table opposite her so I could see her face properly.

'Lydia?' I asked, concern filling me. 'Lydia, can you hear me?' I asked. Finally, her glazed over eyes seemed to focus on me and she gasped as if she had been holding her breath.

'Alex?' she whispered, her lip trembling as she shivered.

'Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?' I asked. I wasn't sure what else to say. I hardly had experience with banshees and I wondered whether I should call Stiles.

'I was driving home and I…' she paused as she stared into the darkness of the apartment.

'You what? Lydia, what happened?' I asked urgently, trying to get as much out of her as possible to I could try and understand what was going on.

'And I was here,' she whispered like the thought of it frightened her. Derek walked back into the room, two towels draped over his shoulder. He had pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t shirt.

'Thanks,' I whispered to him once he had passed me the towels. I draped one around Lydia's shoulders and she clung to it like a life line, wrapping it around her soaking body to keep warm. I gently brushed the other one over her hair, trying to take the moisture out of it so she would warm up quicker.

I sat with her in an uneasy silence for a long time. Derek had received a call from Chris Argent so he had left the room so as not to disturb us, though I was pretty sure he just needed some time alone to ponder what had just happened. I felt strangely nervous around the girl, as if any sudden movements would cause her to scream again.

'You're afraid,' she said suddenly, and though the words weren't loud, they still made me jump. I frowned at her, ready to tell her that I certainly was not but she spoke first. 'Don't try and deny it, even people like you get scared sometimes.'

A month ago her words would have annoyed me and I would have viciously denied her accusations. But she was right. I was afraid. In fact, I was beyond terrified. 'What do you mean, 'people like me'?'

'You know, people who don't like to show weakness, think they can survive by burying their demons…' she explained. 'But everyone hits their breaking point eventually.' I scoffed.

'Yeah, well recently I feel like I've hit mine repeatedly with a sledge hammer,' I said, a harsh edge to my words. She only chuckled quietly.

'You wanna know a secret?' Lydia asked and I rolled my eyes.

'Oh do enlighten me,' I drawled sarcastically and she returned my eye roll.

'We're all scared too, but it doesn't mean any of us have given up,' she said and I was surprised by how reassuring and nice she was being to me. I had only ever been cold and dismissive with her.

'I guess I just thought all this would be over now, you know?' I sighed, referring to how we had stopped the dead pool and assassins were no longer after us. She smiled sadly.

'Honey, in this town, it's never really over,' she said, squeezing my shoulder. It was strange how the tables had turned: the younger girl was now the one comforting me. I wondered why Lydia and I had never really gotten along before this moment – it was probably more to do with my general callousness towards other human beings rather than anything else.

'I uh, I'll go get changed and then I can drive you home,' I offered. I could see she wanted to protest but I had already walked away before she could say anything.

I scooped my jeans and leather jacket from the floor and headed along the corridor to the bathroom. I met Derek on the way who was leaning against the wall. 'Mind if I borrow this?' I asked as I gestured to his t shirt I was already wearing before slipping my black jeans on.

'Not at all,' he said, his signature bad boy smirk spreading across his face as he bent down to place a kiss on my lips. What had started as a small gesture of affection turned into something much more significant. The kiss didn't deepen, just stayed as what it was: our lips joined together in the most perfect way, though his lingered on mine for a moment longer, as if he thought it might be the last time we'd ever kiss. It frightened me and I suddenly didn't want to leave him to take Lydia home. I didn't want to leave his side even for a second as to not risk him slipping through my fingers. He slowly pulled away, his green eyes staring into mine with so much intensity I almost gasped. 'Go,' he said, saying it was okay for me to leave him. He understood. I nodded and reluctantly walked back to the main room, shoved on my boots and showed Lydia to my car.

* * *

'Would you just ask me already!' I blurted out to the strawberry blonde sitting in the passenger seat. She had been fidgeting with her nails ever since she got in the car and it was driving me insane. I instantly regretted my decision when she smirked at me from across the car.

'Is he a good kisser?' she asked and if I had been drinking a diet coke, it would have come out of my nose. I was expecting a question about Derek (unsurprisingly since she had walked in us wearing nothing but our underwear) but I wasn't expecting something so blunt. Then again, this was Lydia.

'You're not allowed to ask about _that_ ,' I spluttered, the smirk on her face only growing.

'So you have kissed then,' she stated and I cursed myself.

'I assumed that was a given,' I said, growing irritated, though I wasn't truly bothered by it. To be honest, although it did make me feel like I was in middle school, it did feel good to have a bit of a gossip, even if it was about _boys._

'Well I don't know, I might have interrupted something before it happened' she said, all chipper.

'Please, nothing did happen,' I scoffed, hoping she wouldn't see past my thinly veiled lie.

'Uh huh,' she mused sceptically. 'So what exactly did you do last night after Scott left?' Somehow, I just knew after that wink he sent me that the young alpha wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut. Damn you Scott McCall.

'I guess you wouldn't believe me if I said we played strip poker,' I said and she chuckled.

'Nope,' she said, popping the 'p' loudly.

'God, Lydia, I don't know what I'm doing,' I wined. 'Can you do me a favour and not tell anyone,' I pleaded. She chuckled loudly and I glared at her from across the car.

'Sweetie, I'm pretty sure they already know.' she said and my stomach dropped.

'They do?' I said, wincing as if the words physically hurt me.

'Please, ever since you started staying at the loft every other night we've all known something was going on,' Lydia said proudly.

'But nothing was going on until a couple of days ago,' I said.

'Alex, these things don't just happen overnight,' she said. I felt like she was some kind of relationship guru from whom I badly needed some advice. 'Wake up, honey, he's been head over heels for you for weeks now.' I didn't say anything, simply looking back to the road in front of me as I continued to drive. Had it really been so obvious to everyone but me? I doubted it, though I didn't think Lydia would be one to lie about this. Why would she?

'So I got to ask my questions,' she said turning to face me. 'You're turn.' I had been burning to ask her about Meredith ever since she turned up at the loft but there never seemed to be an appropriate time. But now, I needed to know. I might never get another chance to ask her.

'Did Meredith say anything? You know, about me?' I asked hesitantly. Lydia sighed.

'Yeah she did,' Lydia said.

'Well?' I asked, growing impatient. 'What did she say?'

'You weren't on the original list,' she said with a sigh and I frowned. 'You were outside of Beacon Hills when Meredith wrote the code. But she could feel you, she knew you were close. Banshees predict death,' Lydia continued, 'and she predicted all of yours.'

'So she added me to the list,' I said, the pieces all making sense to me now. 'But what about all the others?' I asked. 'There must have been hundreds of supernaturals just outside of Beacon Hills.'

'You're different,' she said, echoing the words I had heard Deaton say a few weeks ago. 'Why else do you think your price disappeared from the deadpool?' I sighed. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle I had been working on for the best part of four years were starting to slot into place. 'That's not all though,' she said and I raised an eyebrow at her. 'I didn't understand the feeling at first, but I do now.'

'What do you feel?' I asked.

'It's like, every time you're around, I get this feeling. It's like static in my head,' she said.

'Static?' I asked with a frown.

'Before I knew what I was, I didn't just predict death,' she said.

'Stiles said you always found the dead bodies,' I said, the morbid conversation making me queasy. She nodded.

'It's the same feeling I get with you, only with you, it's much stronger' she explained.

'Are you saying I'm like a walking talking dead person or something?' I deadpanned, suddenly wishing I hadn't asked.

'More like a hundred dead people,' she said and I snorted though nothing was really funny.

'So Meredith could feel my 'deathly supernatural presence' or whatever so stuck me on that list,' I said. I wasn't sure if I was completely satisfied with that explanation, but I guessed it was better than nothing. 'And then at Eichen House when she went all death grip on my arm, she figured out I can't be killed and cut the price from the list?'

'In layman's turns, pretty much,' she clarified. 'It's the next left,' she said, directing me through the streets to her house. We pulled up outside her house and she undid her seat belt, slipping out of the passenger seat with a small 'thank you'. She was about to slam the door when she stopped herself, leaning back into the car. 'I'm gonna give you a small piece of advice,' she said, her tone taking on a more serious note than that of out fairly light chit chat. 'You and Derek have both been through a lot,' she said, a sad smile gracing her lips. 'It's okay to let yourself be happy for once.' I was going to say something, make a comment on how I was fine, but she was already gone.

I sat in my stationary car by Lydia's house for a while, the ignition still going. I was still processing everything Lydia had said about Meredith, and about Derek. Had he really been hiding his feelings for me for that long? She was right about one thing: Derek and I had been through a lot. And maybe I did just need to let myself be happy. But right then I couldn't, not with everything that had happened that night. Right now my priority was keeping Derek alive. I might be immortal but there was no way I would be able to survive it if something happened to him.

* * *

 **AN: So that was chapter 22, hope you liked it! I don't know why but this was one of my favourites to write, maybe because I got to add in some original dialogue which was fun :)**

 **How are people feeling about the last few chapters? Are you excited? What do you think will happen? Also, I definitely think I'm gonna go for the sequel and have planned the first few chapters and even started writing a couple! Hope you'll like it!**

 **Let me know what you thought, much love x**


	24. Chapter 23 - Fragility

It was already light by the time I made it back to the loft. Since I had returned I had been busying myself with pointless things, trying to take my mind off of the thought of Lydia's prophecy coming true. I could tell Derek knew I was agitated, but clearly didn't want to set me off, so he kept his distance. I spent most of my time rubbing my blue shirt in the sink, trying, and failing, to get the crimson blood stain out of it. I heard footsteps behind me as I scratched at the fabric in the murky water.

'You know I think it would be easier just to throw it out,' Derek said from behind me. 'Isn't that what you usually do?'

'Yeah,' I said defeatedly as I sat back on the toilet lid. 'I guess I just needed something to take my mind off…' I couldn't bring myself to say it. He sighed and crouched down in front of me, taking my face in both his hands. I picked at my nails trying to avoid his gaze.

'Alex, look at me,' he said softly and my eyes slowly flickered to his. 'It's gonna be okay,' he said, trying to reassure me. 'I'm not worried, okay?' he said and I nodded though I wasn't sure I believed him. _I am._ I closed my eyes as he leant forward, pressing his soft lips to my forehead. When he pulled away I sent him a forced smile, telling him I was okay, even though I wasn't.

The sound of the main door sliding open echoed through the corridor and Derek stood up, pulling me with him. 'Come on,' he said and I followed him to the main room. Scott stood in the door way, a large lacrosse bag hanging from his arm.

'Scott,' I greeted, a little surprised to see him. 'Don't you have school?' I asked and he nodded.

'Yeah, I just needed to stop by quickly,' he said. He looked extremely nervous and had a guilty look in his eyes. He walked over to us, and I noticed how he wouldn't look Derek in the eye. 'Derek, I uh, I have something of yours,' he said, throwing the lacrosse bag down on the coffee table. 'I found it in Garret's locker a few weeks ago.'

I frowned as Derek unzipped the bag, revealing a large quantity of cash inside it. 'Okay,' Derek said simply, and Scott shot him a confused look.

'Don't you wanna know why it took so long to return it?' Scott asked.

'How much do you make at the Animal Clinic?' Derek asked the teen wolf.

'Minimum wage,' Scott replied.

'That's why,' he said, and I inwardly smiled at how understanding Derek was being. 'Everyone can be tempted, Scott. Even a True Alpha.'

'You're not angry?' Scott asked.

'It's not even mine,' Derek said. 'It belongs to Peter.'

'Where's your money?' Scott asked.

'You're standing on it,' Derek replied. Scott looked at the ground for a long moment before a wave of realisation flooded over him and his eyes widened.

'There's another vault?' Scott asked, and I rolled my eyes at him, struggling to contain my amusement.

'No,' Derek said bluntly. 'I own the building. And I have my own bank accounts,' he explained. 'All the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we'd actually be better off if the rest never came back.' He swiftly zipped up the bag and dumped it back on the table.

I could see Scott debating whether to leave or not, but he remained where he was. 'I know Lydia was here last night,' he said, looking between both of us. I felt my chest tighten at his words but kept my features schooled on the outside. 'Deaton's still working on figuring out what Kate did to you. If anyone can find an answer, it's him,' Scott said. I smiled at him gratefully. He was trying, the determination in his eyes authentic.

'I should get going,' he said, sending me a reassuring smile before he turned and left for school, leaving Derek and I alone once again.

Derek picked up the lacrosse bag filled with cash and slung it under the bed. I wasn't sure why it amused me but I did have to bite back a chuckle. Then he walked out of the room and down the corridor to the bathroom. I followed him with a frown on my face. Whether it was Kate or the whole he-could-die-at-any-moment thing I didn't know, but something was bothering him.

'So uh, Stiles texted me to say that there's a lacrosse match tonight,' I called to him down the corridor. I could hear him running the tap in the bathroom, perhaps splashing some water on his face to help him relax. 'Do you think Liam will be okay?' I asked, though it wasn't something I really cared about, just a subject that might help him forget about his upcoming fate.

'It's not a full moon,' he said as he exited the bathroom, 'I think he'll be able to control it.' I nodded absentmindedly, as he walked passed me without meeting my eyes.

'It's good what Scott said,' I tried again, 'about Deaton.'

'Alex, what are you doing?' Derek asked, turning to face me.

'I'm just saying that Dea…' I started but was cut off.

'Well don't, okay?' he snapped. I didn't feel hurt by it because I knew it wasn't about me. It was about the whole situation. I was about to reply when my phone rang, interrupting our conversation. I sighed heavily as I picked it up from the table.

'It's Parrish,' I said, looking up at the green eyed wolf in front of me. I wanted him to tell me not to answer, to tell me that the conversation we were having was more important, but he didn't.

'You should answer it,' he said blankly, and I reluctantly pressed the accept button.

'Parrish, hey, what's going on?' I asked as I held the phone to my ear.

'Hey uh, sorry to ask this but I need you to come down to the station,' he said.

'Can I ask why?' I asked, frown lines appearing on my forehead.

'I need you to give a statement about what happened a few days ago,' he explained, 'at Eichen House.' I sighed heavily, though I knew what I had to do.

'Yeah, sure,' I said tiredly, 'I'll be there soon.' I hung up the phone and rubbed my forehead. 'I have to go down to the station,' I told him and he nodded.

'Go,' he said softly, and I instantly felt bad for leaving him. I suddenly ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me in an embrace. He seemed taken aback by my impulsive movements but he soon wrapped his arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.

'I'll see you later,' I whispered to him before pulling away and hurrying out of the loft.

* * *

Giving my statement at the station didn't take long and soon, Parrish and I were walking out into the car park.

'Hey, I never told you what happened with Meredith,' he said suddenly.

'It's okay, Lydia filled me in,' I replied. 'Did they take her back to Eichen House?'

'Yeah,' he said after a beat. 'I don't trust Peter,' he said and I wasn't surprised by his words.

'Parrish, I don't think anyone trusts Peter,' I said bluntly. It was true.

'I know, it's just…I think he's planning something, something bad,' the deputy said.

'I'd be surprised if he wasn't,' I said. He sighed.

'I've been following him,' he admitted, 'trying to figure out what he's up to.' I shook my head. If he was following Peter, he needed to be careful. The older wolf wasn't exactly the most stable of people. I remembered Stiles telling me how he was the one who bit Scott at the very beginning, and then went on to kill dozens of people, including his own niece.

'Why are you telling me this?' I asked with a sigh.

'Because I need your help.'

* * *

'What is this, a sewer?' I asked, disgusted by the idea of walking down the dark, damp concrete corridor we were facing.

'Actually this tunnel runs under a water purifying plant,' he said and I glared at him.

'Are you sure this is where he is?' I asked. I was definitely not ruining my boots walking through this if it was pointless.

'I'm sure,' he replied, 'I've followed him here before.' We were about to enter the dungeon like tunnel when my phone pinged, signalling I had a message. It was from Stiles.

 _Have you seen Scott? He's late to the game and not replying to my messages._

I gasped slightly at the text. It wasn't like Scott to miss a lacrosse match.

 _I haven't seen him since this morning._

It took a while for my message to send, but once it had I received one back straight away.

 _Are you coming later? I could really use some help._

I groaned at the message, not because I didn't want to be there but because once again, everything seemed to be happening at the same time and I couldn't be in two places at once. Now, not only was I worried about Derek and whatever his psychotic uncle was planning, I was also stressed about Scott and making it to the game for Stiles, not to mention the omnipresent threat of the man who was hunting me.

 _I'll see what I can do._ I replied to Stiles, before slipping my phone back into the pocket of my leather jacket.

'Okay, let's do this,' I said to Parrish, pulling out a flash light as we descended into the tunnels.

I watched as he pulled out his gun and I pulled mine out to, checking to see how many rounds I had left. In my frustration with everything that was going on, I dropped the clip onto the ground. It bounced into a stream of water that was running down the centre of the tunnel.

'Fuck!' I exclaimed loudly as I punched the concrete wall in my frustration. I felt a few metacarpals crack as I did before they snapped back together. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Parrish raise his eyebrows at my outburst, obviously surprised that I couldn't keep a grip on my anger.

'Bad day?' he asked as I picked the clip off of the ground. It was dripping with water, but I hoped it would still work.

'Bad decade,' I grumbled back at him as I pressed forward down the tunnel. Out of nowhere, I heard a faint sound of someone shouting. 'Did you hear that?' I asked Parrish in a quiet but panicked voice.

'Yeah,' he said, matching my tone. We both held our guns up in front of us, ready to shoot. There was another shout, this time much louder. It was a shout of pain, no, agony.

'Oh God,' I said as I noticed a figure in the distant. I shone the flash light down the damp tunnel, illuminating a man who was pinned to the wall. 'Argent,' I mumbled under my breath, suddenly realising who it was. 'Chris!' I yelled as I ran down the tunnel, Parrish following close behind.

I stopped short when I noticed a large metal pole sticking out of his gut, the floor surrounding him covered in dark red blood. 'How long have you been like this?' Parrish asked as I squeezed his hand. At that moment I wished I was a werewolf so I could take some of his pain away. The piece of metal was bent at a right angle where it came out of him, trapping him against the wall.

'I don't know,' Argent replied, his breathing ragged and laboured. 'Might have blacked out a few times.'

'Peter Hale did this?' Parrish asked, my hate for the werewolf growing every second.

'Don't sound so surprised, he shot me in the head first time I met him,' I said through gritted teeth.

'You were following him?' Argent asked.

'Every day since Meredith Walker,' Parrish replied.

'Listen to me,' Argent breathed out, using everything he had not to cry out in pain. 'Kate's going after Scott.' My eyes widened at his words. 'You've got to warn them.' I pulled out my phone, ready to dial Scott's number but I had no bars, the signal was non-existent.

'Dammit, there's no service down here,' I seethed desperately.

'Then just go,' Argent said, looking between us with equally desperate eyes.

'If we leave right now, you'll be dead by the time we get back,' Parrish said, before he turned to me. 'Alex, you have to go and warn them about Kate.'

'What? No, I can't,' I argued. 'I'm not leaving him here like this.'

'Alex, you have to, please,' Chris begged and I shook my head defiantly.

'It's okay,' Parrish assured me, 'I'm not leaving here without him, okay?' I reluctantly nodded and after sending one last look to Argent, I headed down the tunnels.

'Wait!' I heard a shout from behind me. It was Chris, using all the strength and energy he had to tell me something that was obviously important. 'Don't tell them,' he spluttered. 'Don't tell them about what Peter did to me.' I scowled at his words. _Why the hell not?_ He somehow understood what I was thinking before the words left my mouth. 'If they've done something to Scott, if they've taken him, you will need him to take you there,' Argent explained. 'You need Peter to think you trust him, Alex. Do you understand?' His words angered me, but I knew he had a point. If I told everyone that Peter had tried to kill Argent, then chaos would erupt and Peter would never help. He couldn't know that I knew about what he had done. 'You can't tell them about Peter,' he repeated again. I nodded to him as my chest tightened, hot tears of frustration and anger running down my face. I turned from the two men, sprinting as fast as I could down the dark tunnel to warn the others.

* * *

As soon as I made it out of the tunnels I was in my car, phone already pressed to my ear as I waited for Stiles to pick up. I was glad Parrish and I had driven here in separate vehicles, otherwise this would have been a whole lot worse. The teen answered after only the first ring.

'Alex! Where the hell have you been!' he yelled down the phone. Now that I have service I was suddenly receiving all the messages he had likely been sending me over the last hour or so.

'I know, I'm sorry I didn't make it to the game,' I apologised, feeling like a lousy friend. 'Did you get hold of Scott?' I asked, my foot on the floor as I sped down the road.

'No he's still not answering,' he said exasperatedly.

'Did he say where he was going to be today?' I asked.

'Yeah, he was supposed to be at the loft with Kira,' Stiles replied. I wanted to asked why they would be there but decided it wasn't the time.

'Stiles, listen to me. Kate's going after Scott,' I told him down the phone. 'We have to get to the loft right now!'

'Oh shit,' Stiles mumbled. 'How do you know all this?'

'I just do, okay? I'm driving straight to the loft now,' I said before hanging up. I then quickly punched in a message to Derek, keeping one eye on the road.

 _Meet me at the loft ASAP. V. IMPORTANT. Bring your gun._

The message was short and to the point, and would most likely freak him out, but right now I didn't care. All I cared about was getting to Scott and Kira before Kate did.

* * *

Somehow, Stiles, Derek and I arrived at the loft at the same time. Stiles and I filled Derek in on what Kate was planning, and I carefully left out any details involving Peter, remembering Argent's warning. We sprinted up the stairs to the loft, Derek up in front and Stiles and I trailing behind.

'Are you wearing a man's shirt?' Stiles asked suddenly as he gaped at my attire.

'No,' I shot back quickly and I heard Derek snort as he yanked back the heavy metal door. The sight that met our eyes made my stomach drop to the floor.

The large window was smashed right in the centre, as if someone, or something, had jumped straight through it. The majority of the floor was covered in tiny but lethal shards of glass. From the ceiling hung hundreds of light bulbs, most of which were shattered. The ones that weren't flickered like lightening, causing the room to somehow pulsate as they went from bright to dim every second. Specks of blood could be seen dotted about the floor, but one thing was missing from the horrific scene. Scott and Kira.

'What the hell happened?' I exclaimed as the three of us walked into the loft.

'It was supposed to be a date,' Derek said as he observed one of the flickering light bulbs.

'They were both here?' I asked as I stared at the couch. There was a laptop poking out from underneath it as if it had slid along the floor.

'And they're both gone,' Stiles said. A phone rang and Stiles swiftly brought his phone from his back pocket.

'Put it on speaker,' I said before he answered.

'Hey,' Stiles greeted down the phone.

'Scott's been taken,' I heard Lydia say down the line.

'Scott and Kira,' Stiles replied. 'We just don't know where.'

'Mexico,' a new voice that was Deaton said. 'And if you want to save his life, that's where you're going too.'

* * *

 **AN: I think I feel a road trip coming on...**

 **So only a couple of chapters to go. What do you think will happen? What has everyone's favourite/least favourite moment of _Deadpool_ been up to this point? Also, has anyone got any suggestions for what I should call the sequel?**

 **Hope you liked the chapter and let me know any thoughts. Thanks for reading! Much love x**


	25. Chapter 24 - Take Me To Church

'La Iglesia?' I said sceptically to Derek as we walked down the spiral staircase. 'Doesn't sound that terrifying.'

'It's where Kate took me when she aged me backwards,' he explained.

'Ah, so that's how you ended up as a sixteen-year-old,' I teased and he shot me a look that told me to shut up. I smirked. 'You were a cute teenager, you know, weird as hell, but still cute.'

'Ha ha ha,' he said sarcastically, though I could tell he was trying to supress a smile. We walked over to the table where a large selection of guns lay. They were mostly ones I had kept in a small cupboard hidden away in my apartment for the past year or so. I had gotten them from Dylan's old apartment after I had escaped the 'research' facility. The others were ones Argent had given us a few days ago to defend ourselves.

'I still don't like relying on these things,' Derek sighed as he leaned against the table, looking at all the weapons.

'I get it,' I replied. 'You miss your power. I would too.' It was true. Although most of the time I resented my abilities for giving me the life that had, always on the run, always looking over my shoulder, I wasn't sure what I would do if they were suddenly ripped away from me.

'It's not about power, it's about being able to help,' Derek said sadly. 'I don't like feeling helpless.'

'I don't have super human strength or speed,' I said 'do I look helpless?'

'You're a much better shot than me,' he said with a weak smile, glancing up at me before looking back at the table.

'Do you really think you won't be coming back?' I asked as I frowned at him.

'Not alive,' he said defeatedly. I walked around the table, coming closer to him as I gazed into his gorgeous green eyes.

'You know I'm not okay with that,' I said sincerely, my voice holding more intensity than it ever had before. He looked up at me suddenly as if the words he heard me say were unexpected. After everything, did he really think I would be okay with him dying? He walked closer to me, cupping my cheek with his hand, the other on my waist as he pulled me closer to him. He kissed me so softly as if I would break, though the only thing that was hurting was my heart. His other hand came up to hold the other side of my face as he pulled his lips from mine, resting his forehead against mine. His eyes were still closed, as if he couldn't bear to see the sadness and desperation in my eyes.

'I am,' he said softly. 'If it saves Scott and Kira,' he finished, finally opening his eyes to gaze into mine.

'I can't lose you.' I whispered the words so quietly I wasn't sure if I had really said them. His hands trailed down my arms and he held my hands in his, pulling me towards him as he pressed another kiss to my forehead. I felt tears start to form in my eyes and he pulled away, as though if he remained closer to me any longer, tears would fill his own eyes.

'To be honest,' he said, leaning back against the table, his hands slowly drifting away from mine, 'I don't even know if this is enough firepower to take down one Berserker.'

'Not even close,' said another voice as the sound of footsteps descending the stairs filled the loft. It was Peter. He scoffed at his own words. 'Killing a Berserker is next to impossible.' I had to restrain myself from picking up one of the guns and shooting him right then and there. But I remembered Argent's warning, satisfying myself with just a glare. 'It's not just the firepower, it's breaking the animal spirit from the human.'

'Well, the one person we know with that kind of experience is Argent,' Derek said and I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. 'And he's not getting back to me.'

'Well, then you're going to need help,' he said, his eyes darting to me. I felt nervous under his gaze but I kept my features schooled, simply maintaining my icy glare. 'Like Malia, maybe Liam,' he said quickly and I scoffed. There was no way in hell that kid with the anger issues was coming. 'Definitely me.'

* * *

'You know I think this is a terrible plan, right?' I told Stiles as I handed him the keys to the prison transport van. Stiles, Malia, Liam and I had all congregated in the garage under Derek's loft building. Apparently Liam had insisted on coming on our little road trip to Mexico, resulting in Stiles phoning me saying we needed to find something we could transport him in for the full moon. I begrudgingly had told him I would take care of it, though now, I really regretted my decision.

'How did you even get this?' Stiles asked me, seemingly a little scared that I managed to get my hands on this kind of vehicle.

'Scott's dad is an FBI agent,' I started.

'Do I really wanna know the rest?' Stiles asked, an awkward frown on his face. I deliberated telling him how I had broken into the McCall household when Melissa was a work and lifted the keys off of Scott's father whilst he was sleeping on the couch, but decided against it.

'Only that if I get arrested for taking it I'm gonna kill you,' I said, a sarcastically friendly smile on my face. Stiles shuddered at the thought before nodding. I felt eyes on me and I turned, meeting Liam's quizzical and nervous gaze with a hard glare. He instantly looked away. I smiled. The sound of a car door slamming brought all are attentions to Derek and Peter who had just joined us.

'Are we really bringing him?' Derek asked, gesturing to Liam. _My thoughts exactly._

'Are we really bringing him?' Stiles threw back, referring to Peter. I scoffed.

'We're bringing everyone that we can,' Peter said, narrowing his eyes at Stiles. 'And considering Scott and Kira were taken the night before a full moon, we should probably get going.'

'What's that mean?' Malia asked.

'If Kate took Scott back to the same temple that she took Derek, how do we know she's not planning to do the same thing to him?' Peter said. I frowned at his words. He was really making an effort to show that he wanted to help Scott. I suspected it was all bullshit.

'What, she wants to make him younger?' Liam asked.

'Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf,' Derek suggested.

'A werewolf can't steal a true Alpha's power,' Peter said. 'But maybe a Nagual jaguar, with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her... Maybe she can. So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going.' Peter finished.

'We can't,' Stiles said, all eyes including mine snapping to him. 'Not without Lydia.'

* * *

'What's she doing at the school anyway?' I asked Malia as Stiles paced around the garage, his phone pressed to his ear.

'We got Kira's sword, but we need something with a stronger scent,' Malia explained. 'Lydia went to get a jacket out of her locker.'

'Nothing,' Stiles said as he walked over, a worried look on his face.

'Hey, maybe if she has a car, she can catch up to us,' I suggested, trying to keep positive.

'That's a good point. We'll call her from the road,' Peter said quickly and I shot him a glare.

'No. What if something happened?' Stiles said. 'What if she's in trouble?'

'Fine. You stay, you find her. We're gonna go on without you.,' Peter said.

'Hey!' I yelled to him, 'back off Big Bad Wolf,' I spat at him, the tension between the group growing with every second.

'I could call Mason,' Liam suggested, referring to his friend. 'He has a study group at school. Maybe he could look for her.' Derek raised his eyebrows at Stiles, signalling that maybe it was a good idea.

'All right. Fine,' Stiles said reluctantly. Liam went to call Mason as we all walked to our respective vehicles. I saw Stiles pulling Malia aside, no doubt to tell his girlfriend that she would have to ride with Peter alone. They broke apart and Stiles walked over to the large black van.

'Remember what we're dealing with,' Peter said suddenly as he pulled a jacket over his shoulders. 'It's not just Kate, it's Berserkers. You might see human eyes behind those skulls. Do not assume that there's any humanity left.' I noticed Liam shift uncomfortably and I bet that his heart was beating a thousand times a minute. 'Oh,' Peter said condescendingly as he noticed Liam's fear. 'This little one is terrified of them, aren't you? Don't worry, my friend. It is that fear that will keep you alive.'

'A reminder to everyone. You do not fight Berserkers to survive, you fight to kill,' he finished before sliding into the driver's seat of his SUV.

I walked around to the back of the van, opening up the double doors to let the others and myself in. To my unexpected dismay, Stiles threw me the keys as he clambered into the back of the van. I fumbled with them, not expecting to have to catch something until I looked at him, an irritated glare on my face.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' I asked Stiles as Derek and Liam climbed in too.

'Sitting in a van?' he said like he was asking a question.

'No way in hell are you sitting back here with him,' I said, pointing to Liam. 'You're driving,' I said.

'Um, no I'm not. I have experience with out of control werewolves on a full moon,' he said as if it was obvious. I glared at him.

'Well I have experience with surviving lethal attacks so I think I win,' I told him, my tone icy and irritated.

'Would one of you just drive,' Derek said, rolling his eyes at us, 'you're wasting time.'

'Watch it, Hale,' I warned, 'I'm not exactly happy with you sitting back here either,' I snapped. I saw Stiles' eyes darting between Derek and I as if he was figuring something out. I guessed he was probably coming to the conclusion that there in fact was something going on between the two of us. I could see him about to open his mouth but I shot him a silencing glare. 'Fine,' I said begrudgingly, 'but we're switching at nightfall,' I told Stiles before slamming the double doors shut and climbing into the driver's seat.

* * *

'Yeah, her car's here,' the voice that I assumed belonged to Mason said through the speaker phone, though I had never actually met him. 'You want me to look around the school and see if I can find her?'

'Yeah, definitely. Call me as soon as you find her,' Liam replied before hanging up. We had been driving for a good hour and a half and we were currently in desert terrain. I focused on the driving, following Peter's car in front of us, rather than thinking about what would happen when we arrived, or what would happen when the full moon came out. I glanced behind me through the grating to see Stiles and Derek fixing a pair of handcuffs around the young beta's wrists and chaining him to the metal bench.

'You know, I still hate this plan!' I yelled back to them, but they didn't take any notice.

'All good?' I heard Derek ask. 'I brought something to help you,' he said and in the mirror I saw him pull out a small circular object. 'This has been with my family for centuries. It's a very powerful, supernatural talisman,' Derek explain. 'We use it to teach Betas how to control themselves on a full moon.' I rolled my eyes at his words as he passed the triskelion to Liam.

'Yes, it's powerful,' Stiles said, clearing his throat and trying to sound mysterious. 'Very powerful.' I huffed loudly, hoping the two idiots in the back could hear my distaste at them attempting to control the young werewolf by lying to him. _I really hate this plan._

* * *

After another couple of hours, the sun had fallen below the horizon and the sky had darkened. I gripped the steering wheel apprehensively, by heart thumping in my chest loudly.

'Okay, Stiles. Moon's out, time to switch,' I called out to the teen behind me. I turned back, catching Derek's eye as he smiled reassuringly. Suddenly, Liam groaned loudly, the young beta pulling at his cuffs as he breathed heavily. It was happening.

'Whatever you were gonna teach me…' Liam panted as his eyes glowed a brilliant amber, 'I think you better start.' The beta continued to breathe heavily as Derek tried to help him.

'Liam, you with me?' Derek said worriedly. I snapped my head behind me to see Liam shaking almost uncontrollably, his face gleaming with sweat. I didn't like this at all. 'We have a mantra that we use,' Derek continued, trying to calm the beta. 'You repeat it; you focus on the words. It's like meditating. You say the words until you feel control coming back to you.'

'Okay. Okay, okay! What are the words?' Liam shouted, trying his hardest to keep control.

'Guy, this is making me really nervous!' I yelled back at them.

'Okay, look at the triskelion,' Derek continued. 'See the symbol? I have a tattoo on my back, it's the same thing. Each spiral means something.'

'Alpha, Beta, Omega,' I heard Stiles say.

'It represents the idea that we can always rise to one and fall back to another. Betas can become Alphas…' Derek said.

'Alphas can become Betas,' Stiles continued.

'Can Alphas become Omegas?' Liam asked and I turned my head back to see Derek nodding.

'Yeah well the beta can also kill the two idiots!' I yelled, the panic in my voice evident.

'Alex!' Stiles shouted, 'you're not helping,' he argued, silencing me.

'All you have to do is say the three words. And with each one, you tell yourself you're getting calmer, more in control,' Derek said, ignoring my outburst. 'Go ahead.'

'Alpha, Beta...' Liam started.

'Slower,' Derek instructed.

'Alpha... Beta... Omega...' Liam repeated as he groaned, the strength of the full moon beginning to overpower him. 'Alpha... Beta... Omega...'

'Good. Say it again,' Derek said. 'Remember, every time you say the words, you're getting calmer.'

'Alpha, Beta... Omega.' This time Liam growled the words and I was sure that if I was a normal human, I would have had a heart attack.

'Wow, wow,' I heard Stiles mumble worriedly. 'Derek, I don't think the powerful talisman of self-control is working.'

'Stiles! What the hell is happening back there?' I yelled, trying to focus on driving and making sure nobody was getting slaughtered behind me.

'Liam, say it again!' Derek demanded as the beta continued to roar.

'That's it!' I yelled. 'I'm pulling over, Stiles, we're switching!' I shouted back to him.

'No!' Stiles yelled back. 'If we open the doors now he could get out! We'll never find him.'

'Fuck!' I shouted in anger to no one in particular. I knew this was a ludicrous idea, and I could only blame myself for letting it get this far.

'Liam!' Derek barked, trying to get him to calm down. Now the beta was writhing in his seat, pulling at the flimsy cuffs that held his clawed hands in place. He was causing the whole van to shake and I was almost losing control of it as it swerved down the dusty road. Suddenly there was a snapping sound and I turned to see that Liam as broken out of his restraints and was now clawing at the others.

'Derek?' I said warningly as he tried to restrain the beta himself.

'I think we're gonna need to go a little faster,' Stiles said from his position cowering in the corner.

'Shall I pull over?' I yelled back to them.

'Keep going!' Derek yelled. 'Liam! Liam...' I heard him shout through Liam's growls and screams.

'We're almost there,' I assured them as I noticed the ground in front of us start to level.

'Keep focus!' Derek shouted to Liam as he held the beta's arms, keeping his claws away from him.

'Derek, I don't think Alpha, Beta, Omega is resonating with him,' Stiles said.

'You know any other mantras?' Derek yelled as Liam growled again.

'Yeah. I do,' he said suddenly. 'Liam, Liam. What three things cannot long be hidden?' Stiles said and I knew where he was going with this. I myself had heard werewolves chanting this back when I was in the 'research' facility. They would chant it every full moon to try and remain in control. 'Liam! Liam, look at me. What three things cannot long be hidden?'

'Sun... The moon... The truth,' Liam replied.

'That's it. Say it again,' Stiles demanded.

'Sun, the moon... The truth,' Liam repeated, suddenly sounding a lot calmer.

'Derek?' I asked, making sure he was fine.

'We're okay,' he assured me as the three of them panted heavily.

'Sun... Moon... And the truth,' Liam said for a final time. I turned back to see that his fangs and claws were gone, along with his amber eyes. I followed Peter in the SUV down a narrow road as we entered the small town, finally coming to a stop beside the car. 'I can't believe I did it,' Liam said and I let out a sigh of relief. 'For a minute there, I thought I was gonna tear the two of you apart,' Liam said and I shook my head.

'Yeah. That would've made for an awkward ride home,' Stiles said. 'So, thanks.'

'Think you can bring the same level of control and strength inside La Iglesia?' Derek asked and I turned to watch Liam throw his hand out, his claws extending right on cue.

'All right,' Stiles said, 'we might actually be able to do this.' I rolled my eyes and shook my head at how they were all acting so calm after what we had just been through. 'Alex? You good?' Stiles called to me, a cheeky smile on his lips. I shook my head.

'I hate all three of you,' I said bluntly as Derek went to open the door of the van, although really, I was just happy we were all safely here.

However, my relieved demeanour was shattered when Derek was yanked from the vehicle by what I could only presume was a berserker.

* * *

 **AN: Dun dun duuuuuuuun! Get ready for some sadness in the next chapter :'( which is also gonna be the last one :( :( :( but hey! There's gonna be a sequel so happy days :D**

 **This story reached 100 followers the other day which I was super happy about so thank you so much to everyone who reads/follows/favourites/reviews this story! It means so much 3**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and let me know what you thought! Much love x**


	26. Chapter 25 - Metamorphosis

'Derek!' I screamed as he was yanked from the van and I heard him groan in pain as the berserker threw him to the ground. My hand snapped straight for the shot gun that was lying in the passenger seat as I hurled myself through the door. Derek's shouts of pain ripped through me worse than any bullets and in that moment, I saw red.

In less than I second I had visuals on the beast that was on top of him. I fired a shot, the darkness lighting up for a split second. Then I fired another. And another. I just kept firing mercilessly as the thing started to back off and stumble away from Derek. Soon it had disappeared into the shadows and I ran to the green eyed wolf as he collapsed to the ground.

'Derek.' I said his name as he writhed on the ground. I focused on his wounds, that thing had really got him good. The flesh was torn and blood was staining his teeth red. He was already looking pale. I felt the others gather behind me: Peter, Stiles, Malia and Liam.

Derek held his hand over the worst of the wounds as he continued to groan in pain. I slowly removed it with my own so I could check the damage. I could tell he didn't want me to look, but he was in no position to protest.

'How bad is it?' I heard Peter ask from behind me and I was surprised by how much concern I heard in his voice.

'I'm fine, I'm fine,' he said through shaky breaths, 'just get to Scott.' When no one made any effort to move, he continued. 'Just find him, we'll be right behind you.' He squeezed his eyes shut to try and stifle a cry as I pressed my hand to his worst wound, trying to stop the bleeding. 'Go!' he yelled to them, his worry for Scott exceeding his sense of self-preservation.

I turned for a second, watching the others run off into the darkness of the demolished church, but Stiles remained where he was, a desolate look on his face as he stared at the both of us. 'Hey,' Derek called to the teen, 'save him.' I heard footsteps fade away as Stiles turned and followed his friends and I looked back to watch him go. He suddenly stopped and looked back, catching my eye. He looked jarred and almost sickened by what had happened. I was sure my face was already grief stricken as I stared into his brown eyes before I nodded, telling him to go and save his friend. He held my gaze for an extra moment before he disappeared into the ruins too.

Derek's head rolled back as he grunted in pain again, the sound of his agony chipping away at my heart. 'Hey, hey,' I said worry evident in my voice. 'You're fine, okay? You're gonna be just fine,' I assured him, though the words were more to comfort myself than him. I repeated them over and over under my breath as I pressed my hand harder against the stab wound in his gut. He cried out again and I released the pressure a little. 'Sorry,' I said as he winced. I then noticed that the hand that wasn't on its wound was balled into a tight fist, as if to help me keep a grip. I opened my hand and stared at my bloody palm where the nails had actually pierced the skin. I needed to keep it together.

Suddenly in the distance I heard a low growl, causing my head to snap away from Derek and in the direction of the noise. 'Can you still pull a trigger?' I asked as I slowly pulled the Glock from my belt.

'Yeah,' he breathed, his chest heaving to keep himself alive. I forced the gun into his hand, our skin brushing for a perfect moment.

'Stay with me,' I told him, shifting closer to him protectively. 'You're gonna be okay.'

'It's a mortal wound,' he breathed, 'and right now I'm feeling pretty mortal.'

'I'm not gonna let you die,' I said, my voice low and intense. He glanced over at me, our green eyes meeting. I'd never seen him so helpless and fragile and it scared me. He'd always been confident and strong, but now he was weak and I felt like he might slip away in a second if I blinked. I could see it in his defeated eyes. He knew he was going to die. But right then, I couldn't except it.

There was another howl, only this time louder. It was closer. 'You might just have to concentrate on saving yourself,' he said through ragged breaths.

'Haven't you learnt by now, I don't need saving,' I said softly. A small smile tugged at his lips but it turned into a grimace as he groaned in pain again. 'I wish I could take it away,' I said, referring to the agony he was in. Even with my ability, I was completely helpless to save him, and that angered me.

'Alex,' he said softly, a shaky hand coming up to stroke my cheek as he frowned at my anguished face. 'It's okay,' he said, still trying to comfort me even when he was dying. I was about to protest, tell him it wasn't okay, when an even louder growl startled me.

I stood from my position beside him as I grabbed the shot gun, reloading it. I jogged to the other side of the road, pressing my back against a building so whoever was coming couldn't see me though I could still keep an eye on Derek. He weakly held the gun and few inches off of the ground.

I heard them before I saw them. There must have been two from the footfalls I could hear. When they were close enough, I ran out from my position, turning and firing again and again. The shot gun soon ran out of bullets, the first of the berserkers barely flinching as I unloaded a clip into it. I threw the gun onto the ground, grasping two more handguns out of my belt and unloading another clip into it. It didn't slow it down one bit and before I knew what was happening it had me pushed up against the building, grasping my neck firmly. I struggled in its grip as it lifted me off my feet. I chocked, trying to force more air into my lungs as my vision blurred.

The second came into my line of sight, but to my horror, it wasn't another berserker. It was Kate Argent. 'I know you,' she said, her fangs descending from her upper jaw as she spoke. 'You're friends with Scott.'

'Go to hell, bitch!' I spat at her, the berserker's grip squeezing my neck so hard it blocked off my windpipe. Suddenly two vehicles appeared out of the darkness. Kate and the berserker turned to face them and it let me drop to the ground. My body crumpled to the ground as I gasped for air. Then the gun shots started along with the shouts of voices I didn't recognise. From the other car, I saw Argent and Parrish, both with their guns out, firing rapidly at the enemy. A bullet nicked my leg and I winced before the graze healed instantly, the pain dissolving straight away.

I watched as Kate whipped her head around and sprinted in the opposite direction of the gun fire, the berserker following closely behind. 'Alex!' I heard from through the flashes of bullets being fired and soon the figure of Parrish appeared beside me. He grasped my hand and pulled me to my feet. 'Are you okay? Where are the others?' he asked.

'I'm fine, the others are inside finding Scott and Kira,' I yelled to him over the noise. 'Listen, I didn't tell them about Peter, which means they might still trust him,' I said urgently. He nodded, telling me he understood, before he took off to find Kate.

I searched for Derek through the darkness and once I had located him, I sprinted straight over, practically diving onto the ground next to him. 'Hey,' I said worriedly, 'how are you holding up?' He looked pale and clammy, so I guessed not well. I kneeled down beside him and he frowned when he noticed the hole in my jeans, the fabric around the rip soaked in blood.

'You're hurt,' he breathed out as his eyelids fluttered.

'It was just a graze,' I said, forcing a small smile, 'all healed.' I grabbed his hand, and he squeezed it like that was all that mattered. He smiled back at me, his breathing becoming shallow until his breaths were hardly noticeable, his grip slackening on my hand.

'Derek,' I said, trying to get his attention. He gazed into my eyes, though he didn't say a word, all his energy drained. 'Derek,' I repeated, this time my voice frantic as his head rolled back, his eyes no longer focussing on mine. 'Derek!' I screamed his name, my shaky hand cupping his face as I shook him gently, though I couldn't rouse him. My finger flew to his neck. There was no pulse.

He was gone.

I slowly pulled his face towards mine as I softly pressed my lips to his for one last kiss. The pain I felt right then was worse than anything I had ever felt before as I started to hyperventilate. Derek's body became a blur as the tears clouded my vision. The intensity of the grief was so raw, so real that I screamed. It wasn't like a banshee's scream; it was shout of profound pain that I couldn't contain within me. The sound was course and harsh, as well as strangled and defeated. Even so, it just kept coming and I couldn't stop it.

'No, no, no,' I repeated to myself through my sobs, refusing to accept that it was happening. I pulled his body to mine, cradling his head in my arms as I sobbed into his hair. 'Please,' I wept, 'please come back to me,' I begged him. He wasn't warm like the last time I had hugged him. He was cold like the earth. Like death. 'Don't leave me,' I repeated, a new wave of torment and pain washing over me as I screamed again, my fingers that were covered in his blood tangling in his dark hair.

I felt arms wrap around my waist and gently pull me back. I fought against them with all I had, straining to keep Derek in my arms. 'Alex,' I heard Argent say calmly but forcefully as he prised Derek's lifeless hand out of mine. I stopped screaming then as he pulled me up and turned me to face him. I now only shook, no, trembled with grief and anger. 'Alex!' he said louder, forcing me to look him in the eye. 'You've gotta keep it together, okay?' he said as I slumped over, my rage turning to sorrow and utter despair in an instant. He held me up, forcing me to stand on my own. 'Alex, listen to me. Derek came here to save Scott, remember? He died to save Scott!' he yelled. 'Don't let it be for nothing.' I sniffled pathetically, my mind not focusing on anything but the thought of Derek's dead body lying behind me. 'This isn't you, Alex,' Argent repeated, 'you're stronger than this!'

He was right. I needed to pull myself together. If I broke down now, then Kate, Peter and the berserkers would win. I couldn't let that happen. I nodded to Argent as I picked the gun I had given Derek off of the floor, checking the clip before readying myself with the weapon.

I followed Argent to where the carnage was taking place. The other hunters who had joined us were being slaughtered, their bullets having little effect on the berserkers. I shot one of them repeatedly with my hand gun, but it barely noticed as it ripped into another hunter. I saw Kate too. I raised my gun, firing at her a few times as she fought off the other hunters. She was fast, but I managed to hit her a few times, the bullets embedding themselves in her flesh. She flinched, but they seemed to do little other damage.

'They're not going down!' I heard Parrish shout to the right of them. 'Nothing's getting through that armour and I'm running out of ammo.' I quickly took a spare clip from my belt and tossed it to him. He caught it and nodded gratefully, though I knew it still wouldn't be enough to kill a berserker.

I watched as one of the hunters approached Kate as he ripped another to pieces. The exchanged words, the tension between them growing. Suddenly, a deep growl erupted from behind me and most of the hunters ceased their gunfire, even Kate stopped her advances when she heard the sound. I looked around for the source, my eyes widening when I caught sight of where Derek was laying. The body was gone.

Out of the rubble ran a perfect black wolf, bounding towards us on all fours. It stopped for a second, its eyes flashing a brilliant electric blue. I gasped at the mesmerising sight. It ran over to where Kate stood, knocking her off her feet. She grunted and groaned as it attacked her. She managed to push it off and crawl away a little, the black hound licking its lips. The beautiful creature suddenly stood up, morphing into a man. I watched in amazement as the fur on its back disappeared, revealing a familiar triskelion tattoo.

I couldn't help but grin in amazement and shock and it was all I could do to stop myself running to him.

'You were... You were dead,' Kate stuttered, a disbelieving look on her face that matched everyone else's'.

'No,' Derek said, 'I was evolving. Something you'll never do.' Suddenly, a berserker approached them, ready to attack. Derek grabbed it by the skull, staring into its soul. It grunted loudly before there was a bright light and it shattered to pieces, bone crumpling to the ground.

Kate scurried away and I watched as Argent pulled his gun out, firing at his sister. The bullet sent her flying to the ground. I looked to the gunman, a jarred look on his face as he watched his injured sister crawl away. He followed her.

'Derek!' I screamed and the werewolf's head snapped to my direction. I dropped my gun to the ground and sprinted to him. It was like my legs couldn't carry me fast enough to him. I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he pulled me close to him. 'Don't ever do that again, okay?' I mumbled into his ear as I hugged him so tightly.

'What? The dying part or the coming back to life part?' he asked and I chuckled, though it was more with giddy relief than anything.

'The dying part,' I said as I pulled away so I could look him in the eye.

'Well now you know how the rest of us feel when you do it,' he joked and I shook my head.

'Shut up, Hale,' I laughed before pulling his face too mine, our lips connecting in an explosion of passion and emotion. The kiss deepened and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer like he never wanted to let me go.

* * *

'There's enough yellow wolfsbane to keep Peter out for the trip back,' Argent said as we all stood in the dusty square. Scott and Kira were safe and Peter had been defeated. We were all gathered together, Derek standing behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist with my back pressed to his chest. Upon seeing us so close, Stiles had raised an eyebrow at me, a look on his face that said 'I knew all along.' I simply rolled my eyes at him with a smile on my face.

'You're really going with them?' Scott asked the hunter.

'I made a deal with the Calaveras weeks ago,' Chris explained. 'They'll leave you alone. All of you,' he said, his eyes glancing over to meet mine. 'But only if I help them catch Kate.'

'What if you can't?' Kira asked.

'I'll find her. Someone has to,' he replied before turning around to leave. I pulled out of Derek's arms and caught up with the hunter, feeling the need to say what I had to say before he left.

'Here,' I said, handing him the Glock he had given me just over a week ago. 'It was only a loan, right?'

'Keep it,' he said, 'it might come in useful,' he said before turning to leave.

'Hey Chris,' I called and he turned to face me. 'You're one of the good ones too,' I said, echoing the words he had said about Dylan. At my words he walked back over and pulled me into a tight hug.

'You could come with us, you know,' he said as he pulled away. 'A hunter like you would come in useful.' I frowned at his words.

'I'm not a hunter,' I said, my brow still furrowed.

'You were trained by one, weren't you?' he replied and I realised what he was talking about. I guess I was somewhat of a hunter. I had been trained by one of the best hunter's I'd ever met, and I wasn't exactly a novice when it came to protecting myself. I knew my way around a gun and I was a pretty good shot. I had always known I was different from the other supernaturals I had met, but did that truly mean I was on a different side completely?

I could tell that Argent could clearly see my internal debate written on my face because he let a small rare smile tug at his lips. 'Don't worry about it,' he said as he clapped a hand onto my shoulder. 'Perhaps another time.' His face held the expression of someone who knew something I didn't, but I didn't question it, just simply replying with a nod. 'Let me know if you ever get in any trouble,' he said finally as he released my shoulder. I nodded before he turned for the last time and drove away.

I felt Derek behind me as I watched the dust settle on the road. He slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.

'What now?' I asked as I turned around and planted a kiss on the wolf's lips, letting Argent's words seep into the back of my mind to contemplate at a later date.

'Now we go home.'

* * *

The drive back to Beacon Hills was long, but certainly not boring. Stiles had groaned loudly when I had thrust the keys to the van into his hand and told him I was driving with Derek in the SUV.

It was nice, and unusual, to have such a long time alone together without any interruptions. We talked. A lot. He told me about his childhood, his sisters, Laura and Cora. He told me how it felt when Laura was killed, and how it felt when he discovered Cora was alive again. I told him about my short childhood too, about living in foster homes, about my ability, and about the first time I died.

We talked about our parents, that mostly came from his end since I never knew mine. I found out about the fire that destroyed his home and almost his entire family. He told me about Kate and why his eyes were blue. I told him about Dylan and how close we were. I told him of the day he was ripped away from me.

I told him about how I the first time I saw his true face, I thought he was attractive, even though I hated him at the time. He told me he'd always thought I was beautiful.

He was right, he had evolved, and not just as a werewolf. He had evolved as a man, at least in my eyes anyway. Since I had known him, he had been a teenager, an enemy, a pain in the ass, a trainee, a friend, a human, a dead man, a wolf and someone I cared about deeply. I guess we had both evolved as people, and I was beginning to no longer be afraid to care, though the idea of it still terrified me.

* * *

We made it back to Beacon Hills late that afternoon. Stiles took the van back to the station. Turns out the Sherriff had been so worried about Stiles that he barely noticed it was gone. Lydia was okay. She had been kept from coming along as she would have been able to predict Scott's death. Kira and Malia were fine too, in fact we all were. There were only a few weeks of school left before the long summer break so I guessed they were all excited for that. As for Peter, he had been banished to Eichen House indefinitely.

Most of my stuff, though there was little of it, was now at the loft. We didn't really train much as the threat to his life was gone, giving us time to do other things…

Things between Derek and I were good. We hadn't strictly put a label on our relationship, but for now it worked, and, even if it could only be for a short while, everything in Beacon Hills was seemingly perfect.

Though still, in the back of my mind, I couldn't shake the feeling that my biggest enemy was still out there, still watching me from the shadows, preparing to strike.

* * *

 **AN: So there it is, the last chapter... well not quite. There was a prologue so it seems only fair that I give you an epilogue as well! Its just going to set up for the sequel a little bit and give you an idea of what's to come! Keep a look out for it!**

 **Hope you guys have enjoyed this story and Alex's journey with the Beacon Hills gang through season 4. Any comments you have on this story and/or what you wanna see in the sequel would be much appreciated. Constructive criticism welcome :) Much love x**


	27. Epilogue - The Long Goodbye

**Last one :'( Please can you guys have a read of the note at the end, thanks!**

 **Enjoy x**

* * *

I stood in the loft, my eyes gazing around the space that had been like a home to me for the last month or so. It was a place I felt safe, though that probably had more to do with the resident than the building itself. Before me stood the green eyed man himself, his perfect jawline shaded with stubble.

'You're leaving,' he said softly, eyeing the suitcase that sat at my feet.

'It's time for me to move on,' I replied, a sad smile gracing my lips. I had meant what I said to them all the first time we met. Once the chaos was over and done, I would have to leave, though now it was for different reasons.

'Is there really no way I can change your mind?' he asked, and I was happy he wasn't angry, though I could sense a calm sadness within him. 'You know Stiles will be devastated,' he joked, 'he really wanted you to see him play lacrosse.'

I chuckled at his statement, thinking of my sarcastic, funny friend. I would miss him deeply. 'It's not out of choice,' I explained, ' _he's_ still after me.'

'Stay,' he pleaded softly, 'we can protect you.'

'I can't let you risk your lives for me,' I said. 'I already lost you once. If I stay I'm putting you all in danger, but if I go…' I trailed off, the thought of leaving bringing tears to my eyes. 'If I go, he'll never come to Beacon Hills.'

It was quiet for a long moment as Derek gazed into my eyes. 'Then let me come with you,' he said and I felt my heart run at three times its normal speed.

'I can't let you do that,' I sighed, 'Beacon Hills is your home.'

'Beacon Hills was my home,' he said sadly. 'It was my home when my sisters and I would play in the yard and my mother would tell me off for pulling Cora's hair. It was my home before Kate set the fire that killed my family and drove my uncle insane. It was my home for a long time, but maybe it's time for me to move on too.'

'But what about Scott and everyone else. They're your family,' I said. 'Would you really leave them all behind for some girl you've known not even two months?' I asked.

'I thought I'd known you since I was a teenager,' he teased with a wink and I chuckled.

'I'm serious,' I said, my tone becoming more sombre.

'No,' he said simply. 'I wouldn't do it for some girl I'd known not even two months.' He paused and I felt my heart sink to the ground, though I knew it was the right thing. It was better this way. 'But I would do it for you.'

His words caused me to look back up at him. 'Why?' I asked.

'Because I'm in love with you.' I couldn't help myself. His words, so tender and rare from him, made a large smile grown on my lips. I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck as I kissed him. He smiled into my lips and I pulled away resting my forehead against his. I would've said it back if I'd needed to, but I didn't. He already knew.

* * *

'No,' the teen said firmly. 'No, no way.' I tried hard to stop myself from laughing at the way his eyes darted to the others in the room, looking for some back up. 'I mean Argent already left and… seriously no one else knows how to use a gun!' he finished. His argument made no sense.

'Stiles…' I started but he cut me off.

'No, okay, Scott, would you please tell her she's not allowed to leave?' he told his friend. The teen wolf rolled his eyes at him before sending me a small smile.

'Do you know where you're heading?' Scott asked, ignoring his friend's request. Stiles shot him a glare.

'I'm not sure yet,' I replied with a smile of my own, 'we'll probably end up in South America so Derek can see his sister.' Scott nodded and was about to reply when Stiles cut him off. He had a habit of doing that.

'Oh great, she's going _back_ to Mexico,' he told Scott sarcastically, talking as if I wasn't in the room. 'Scott, she's clearly losing her mind.'

'Err I said _South_ America _…_ ' I argued.

'Okay, well… what about Liam?' Stiles said and I frowned at him, pulling a face that said 'what the hell are you on about?' The young beta held a similar expression.

'What about Liam?' I asked exasperatedly.

'Look at him…' he demanded, stumbling over to Liam and massaging his shoulders. 'He can hardly speak he's so choked up about you leaving.'

'I am?' Liam asked doubtfully and Stiles scowled at him. I shook my head. _This is ridiculous_.

'Stiles, could you just shut up for two seconds?' I yelled and I noticed Malia snigger as her boyfriend jumped at the sound. 'I'm not going because I want to, okay? I going to protect you,' I said. 'All of you.' My gaze shifted from the awkward teenager over to Scott. He had a small smile of contentment on his face, almost like he was proud of me. Things were so different from how I had imagined they would be. I had come here to find him, expecting him to be just like me. He was so much more. I watched him place his arm around the striking girl next to him. Kira met his eyes briefly before smiling to herself. That kind of thing would have made me nauseous two months ago, but now I thought it was kind of sweet. My gaze flickered over to Malia and Liam who were perched on a table side my side. I didn't know either of them particularly well, but they were still part of this, part of Beacon Hills. Lastly was Lydia. Our relationship had been rocky to say the least, but I would still miss her greatly.

'Guys, uh, I really hate to ruin the moment but we're gonna be late for Econ…' Kira said suddenly, causing the room to groan collectively. This was the main reason I had asked them all to gather at Scott's house before school – I knew it meant that all the goodbyes would have to be quick, and though I would have wanted for them to stay longer, I knew the end had to come at some point.

They started to gather their things and trailed out of the house. Malia and Liam were the first to go. We murmured a goodbye to each other and exchanged sincere smiles. Kira followed closely behind, though she stopped to give me a tight hug before she left. Lydia was next, pulling me in for an embrace I didn't expect from her. She didn't flinch at our contact and it made me smile. I guess I had grown on her.

'Hey, if uh, if anyone's dying…' I started before she pulled away.

'Already got your number on speed dial,' she said with a smirk and I smiled back gratefully. I followed her out with Scott and Stiles. Liam was already gone and Malia sat in the passenger seat of Stiles' jeep. I watched as Lydia hopped into her car, Kira next to her, and with one last look, she drove away.

'Are you really leaving?' Stiles asked and before I could reply he had enveloped me with his arms. 'I'm gonna miss you, Alex,' he mumbled into my hair. I smiled.

'I'll miss you too, Stilinski,' I replied as he pulled away. 'And hey, this isn't goodbye forever, okay? There's no way I'm letting you lot forget about me anytime soon,' I joked.

'Oh we won't forget you,' Stiles said with a slight snigger. I arched an eyebrow at him. 'I mean you're the girl who actually managed to make Derek Hale smile for once,' he said and I elbowed him lightly in the ribs. 'What exactly are you and the sour wolf going to be getting up to on your travels?' he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively. I shot him a dirty look.

'Why don't you just go to Econ already,' I told him and pushed him towards his vehicle.

'Okay, okay, but just for the record, I called it first!' he yelled as he climbed into his jeep. I rolled my eyes at him, though I couldn't help but smile.

'Goodbye, Stiles,' I said pointedly as he waved a wild arm out of the window at me. I watched as he drove down the road and out of sight.

I turned, facing Scott who was still standing behind me. He had made no effort to leave. 'You're gonna be late for Econ,' I said and he smiled as he kicked a stone across the tarmac.

'It's okay, I can make up the work,' he said. He walked forward and sat down on the curb. I thought his behaviour strange but nonetheless, I joined him. His hands were resting casually in his jacket pockets as he stared down the row of houses, though he didn't seem tense. In fact, this was possibly the most relaxed I had ever seen him since we met. 'Weird how things work out, huh?' he mused.

'Tell me about it,' I replied. We sat in silence for a while, a surprisingly comfortable silence.

'I'm sorry you didn't find what you were looking for,' he said finally.

'What do you mean?' I questioned.

'I know you came here because you thought you would find someone like you,' he said. 'I'm sorry I wasn't him.' It was true, that was why I came here originally, but it wasn't why I stayed.

'I'm not,' I said simply, my words utterly truthful. He looked up from where he had been picking at pebbles on the side walk.

'You're not?'

'No,' I said, shaking my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. 'You're right, you were the reason why I came to Beacon Hills, but you know what?' I sighed, 'you were also the reason I stayed.' He smiled at me and I leant into his side, nudging him playfully with my shoulders. He returned the gesture and we fell back into a comfortable silence.

'Deaton said he's sorry not to be able to see you before you leave,' he said suddenly. I frowned. Sure, Deaton was a nice man but we weren't exactly close.

'Oh, that's okay,' I said, 'tell him bye from me.'

'That's not all he told me to tell you.' I turned to the alpha next to me, suddenly very interested in what he had to say. He wouldn't look me in the eye, almost as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell me what he knew.

'Scott?' I said quietly. He sighed heavily.

'Deaton said he 'did some digging',' he confessed, holding up his hands to make the quotation marks. I knew what he meant. It was weeks ago and I had almost forgotten about it. After I questioned Deaton about his knowledge on the supernatural and probed him for answers about my ability he had told me he would look into it. Through everything that had happened since then it had slipped my mind to follow up on it.

'Well? Did he find anything?' I asked desperately. He sighed again.

'He was pretty vague about it, but he uh,' he paused, rummaging around in his pocket. 'He gave me this.' He held out a small scrap of paper. 'It's an address.' I took the paper from him, quickly unfolding it and examining the letters that were scrawled across it.

'Seattle?' I questioned absentmindedly. I wondered its significance. I had never even been to Washington. 'Are you sure he didn't say anything else?' I asked.

'All he said was that if you went there, you would find what you were looking for,' Scott said, a frown on his face. He looked worried, but more for me then himself.

'What does that even mean?' I thought out loud. He shook his head. I carefully folded up the piece of paper and zipped it into my leather jacket.

'Is Derek gonna sell the loft?' he asked randomly.

'Nah he's keeping it. I guess he wants to always have a base here, you know?' I replied. 'He's bolting it up though before you get any ideas,' I said teasingly and he smiled.

'I would never!' he said, faking offence at my words.

'I think he's more worried he'll come back to find that Stiles has turned it into a bachelor pad,' I joked, causing the alpha beside me to chuckle.

'He's gonna miss you, you know,' Scott commented and I smiled sadly at the ground. 'And you might wanna think about changing your number because he'll be calling every day,' he laughed and I couldn't help the giggle that erupted from my mouth.

'He worries about me too much,' I said as I stood from the curb, taking Scott's hand and pulling him up with me, though he didn't need any assistance.

'We all do,' he said quietly.

'Bye Scott.' My voice was soft and I smiled fondly at him. I held out my arms to him, signalling for him to give me a hug as I grinned at him cheekily. He gave me a heartfelt bear hug and I laughed into his chest. He was much too tall for me to give him a hug like this. We pulled away and I patted him on the shoulder. 'Hey, uh, can you do me a favour and not mention this to anyone?' I asked, referring to the address he had given me.

'Yeah, of course,' he replied and I looked up at him for one last time.

'Take care of yourself, teen wolf,' I said, smiling fondly up at him.

'You too, Alex.' I watched as he climbed onto his bike and pull away down the road. I smiled as I watched him go. I would miss him, all of them, but I knew in that moment that it wouldn't be the last time I saw them.

It was time for me to leave. But there was one more stop I needed to make.

* * *

'Here,' Sherriff Stilinski said as he handed me the 9mm. My 9mm. I had gone down to the station originally to get the Sherriff to wipe the record he had of the weapon. The weapon was registered under the name of Dylan Bristol and the fact that his name could be linked to me by the person hunting me made me nervous. I knew the Sherriff would be understanding but I hadn't thought he would be willing to release the firearm back to me. I was glad for it anyhow.

'Thanks, Sherriff,' I said, a small smile on my lips and I put the weapon safely in the back of my jeans. Back where it belonged.

'Take care of yourself, Alex,' he said, and to my surprise he stretched out and hand. I took it with gratitude and said my goodbye.

I headed out into the car park, finally ready to bid farewell to the town that, even only after a couple of months, had had such an impact on me.

'Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye,' a voice said from behind me. I smiled a little to myself as I turned around to face him. I shrugged.

'I guess I was,' I replied and he chuckled.

'I gotta say, I was kind of hoping you would stick around for longer,' he said.

'Why? Because we got along so well?' I asked sarcastically. Parrish let out a sincere laugh. 'Good luck in figuring out what you are,' I said more seriously. I meant it.

'You too,' he said and I frowned a little. 'I mean,' he started, trying to rephrase, 'I hope you find what you're looking for.' It didn't help. _How could he know?_

'Who says I'm looking for anything?' I asked. He looked up, eyes meeting mine.

'You just don't strike me as the kind of girl who's okay with not knowing where she came from,' he said. I considered his words for a long time. He was perfectly correct, though I would never admit it to him. In a way I think he sympathised with me. He didn't know what he was. He wasn't a werewolf, a banshee, a kitsune or anything I'd ever come across. But wasn't that just what people said about me? I somehow knew that he would eventually find out what he was, and I hoped that one day, I would too. 'I better get to work,' he said simply and I nodded, thoughts still swirling their way around my head like a whirlpool. 'Bye Alex.'

'Bye Parrish,' I said. We didn't hug or shake hands or anything. We didn't need too. Bar Liam and Malia, he was probably the one I was least close to, but at the same time, he was probably the one who understood what it was like for me the most.

'Didn't I tell you? It's Jordan,' he said as he back away into the station.

'Whatever,' I whispered under my breath.

* * *

My time in Beacon Hills was drawing to an end. As was Derek's. Although the it had been home to so much death and destruction over the past couple of months, there was something about the town that seemed to echoed life. I guessed that was the people. Determined, resilient, loyal. For the most part anyway.

I remembered a quote from a book I had studied in high school: _it drew him as the moon draws water_. I wasn't sure why, but the line had always stuck with me ever since I read it for the first time. I realised then that this was true for many things, not just how a little boy could be intrigued by the home of a supposed phantom. It was like how the Nemeton drew the supernatural to Beacon Hills and how in the same way, I felt a pull to its residence I had come to know over the last couple of months. It also reminded me of me. How I seemed to bring danger wherever I went. How _he_ would cling to the scent of my ability when I moved from town to town. I had thought of this quote many times over the past four years, and since encountering more of the supernatural I would often misremember the quote, replacing the word water with something else. After all, water isn't the only thing the moon draws out.

* * *

 **AN: So that's it! And this time I mean it ;) This one was originally gonna be much shorter and just have the bit with Alex and Derek at the beginning but then I thought that she had to have a last goodbye with everyone so hope you liked it!**

 **That quote at the end is from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a great book that I would recommend if anyone's looking for a good read.**

 **Just wanted to say again, thanks so much to everyone who had read/followed/favourite/reviewed this story. Can't believe people are still reading after 27 chapters! I'm working on the sequel atm so hopefully won't be too long before I start posting again but no promises! Not sure what its going to be called yet so keep an eye out!**

 **Also, whilst of course I'm gonna be carrying on with Alex's story, I've been thinking of starting another OC story. I'm thinking another Teen Wolf, a Vampire Diaries or a Supernatural one but haven't decided yet. Would love to know if anyone would be interested in reading any of those? (pairings still to be decided)**

 **Sorry for the super long note but thought since its the last one you wouldn't mind :)**

 **Thanks again! Let me know what you thought. Much love x**


	28. Author's Note

**AN: Hey guys! Hope you're all doing well! This is just a quick note.**

 **It was pointed out to me that I should post on this story to let people know that the sequel is up. Sorry, I probably should have done this sooner, my bad! So yeah, the sequel is up, it's called** ** _Imbroglio_** **. Have a read and let me know what you think so far!**

 **Also, for any Supernatural fans, I've also posted the first few chapters to my new OC fic. It's called** ** _contra naturam_** **. Hope you like it!**

 **Thank you to ThePoshKat for pointing this out!**

 **Much love x**


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